Biology & Medicine News and Discussions

[weatheriscool]

Breath-analyzing sensor dims its glow to show blood oxygen levels
By Ben Coxworth
May 06, 2024
https://newatlas.com/medical/blood-oxyg ... or-breath/

A new sensor could soon allow hospital patients' blood oxygen levels to be checked via their breath. The technology is claimed to be more reliable and less painful than existing traditional methods.

Blood delivers life-sustaining oxygen to the organs and tissues throughout our body.

Therefore, if there isn't enough oxygen in that blood, serious damage may occur to the brain, heart or other areas – potentially resulting in the death of the patient. It's also possible for blood oxygen levels to be too high, causing damage to the lungs.

With such risks in mind, doctors typically monitor critical patients' blood oxygen levels via devices known as pulse oximeters. These clamp onto the end of one finger, where they use light to determine how much oxygen is currently in the bloodstream.

Because pulse oximeters aren't 100% reliable, doctors will sometimes also draw and analyze blood samples. While this technique is a more accurate indicator of blood oxygen levels, it may also be painful and distressing to the patient. It also doesn't provide real-time or continuous readings.

[Tadasuke]

In this episode, recorded during Abundance360 2024, Peter Diamandis and Dean Kamen discuss future of organ manufacturing, Moonshots, and more:

• 15:40 | Creating Organs for Life-Saving Results (in the coming years)
• 25:10 | Custom-Made Organs Now Possible (needs regulatory approval and production facilities)
• 43:43 | The Race to Technical Competence



Dean Kamen is a prolific American inventor, entrepreneur, and advocate for science and technology education. He gained widespread recognition for his invention of the Segway PT, an electric, self-balancing human transporter, and has also made significant contributions to medical technologies, including the first wearable insulin pump for diabetics. Kamen founded DEKA Research & Development Corporation to focus on the development of revolutionary healthcare technologies. He is also the founder of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), an organization dedicated to motivating the next generation to understand, use, and enjoy science and technology. His work extends beyond inventions to actively inspiring young people through robotics competitions and educational programs, aimed at building future leaders in engineering and technology.

Learn about DEKA: https://www.dekaresearch.com/

Learn about FIRST: https://www.firstinspires.org/

[firestar464]

Study highlights pathoblockers as a future alternative to antibiotics

https://phys.org/news/2024-05-highlight ... otics.html

[caltrek]

Breaking Bonds to Form Bonds: Rethinking the Chemistry of Cation
May 16, 2024

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) A team of chemists from the University of Vienna, led by Nuno Maulide, has achieved a significant breakthrough in the field of chemical synthesis, developing a novel method for manipulating carbon-hydrogen bonds. This groundbreaking discovery provides new insights into the molecular interactions of positively charged carbon atoms. By selectively targeting a specific C–H bond, they open doors to synthetic pathways that were previously closed – with potential applications in medicine. The study was recently published in the prestigious journal Science.

Living organisms, including humans, owe their complexity primarily to molecules consisting mainly of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen. These building blocks form the basis of countless substances essential for daily life, including medications. When chemists embark on synthesizing a new drug, they manipulate molecules through a series of chemical reactions to create compounds with unique properties and structures.

This process involves breaking and forming bonds between atoms. Some bonds, such as those between carbon and hydrogen (C–H bonds), are particularly strong and require considerable energy to break, while others can be more easily modified. Whereas an organic compound typically contains dozens of C–H bonds, chemists traditionally had to resort to manipulating other, weaker bonds. Such bonds are far less common and often need to be introduced in additional synthetic steps, making such approaches costly – thus, more efficient and sustainable synthetic methods are sought after.

C–H Activation as a New Approach

The concept of C–H activation is a revolutionary approach enabling the direct manipulation of strong C–H bonds. This breakthrough not only enhances the efficiency of synthetic processes but can also often reduce their environmental impact and provide more sustainable paths for drug discovery.
A key challenge is the precise manipulation of a specific C–H bond within a molecule containing many different C–H bonds. This obstacle, known as the "selectivity problem," often hinders the broader application of established C–H activation reactions (Figure 1).

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1044772