Gizmorama - November 18, 2013
Good Morning, A possible cure for paralysis on the horizon? According to a story below: A process triggering the regrowth of damaged nerve cell branches may help improve treatments for injuries that can cause paralysis, U.S. researchers say.
Learn about this and other interesting stories from the scientific community in today's issue.
Until Next Time,
Erin****-- Survey finds people prefer wrist or arm as best for wearable tech --*ATLANTA - People prefer to put wearable tech devices on the arm or wrist, rather than on the collar, torso, waste or pants, a U.S. study found. Georgia Tech researchers surveyed people in both the United States and South Korea to gain cultural insights into perceptions of the use of e-textiles, or electronic devices, stitched into everyday clothing.
Participants in the survey overwhelmingly said they would prefer the wrist and forearm as locations for e-textiles, feeling other locations might cause awkwardness, embarrassment or strange looks, a university release said. "This may be due to the fact that these locations are already being used for wearable technology," said Halley Profita, a former Georgia Tech industrial design graduate student who led the study. "People strap smartphones or MP3 players to their arms while exercising. Runners wear GPS watches." Among their findings, the researcher said, was that Americans are uncomfortable when men used a device located at the front pant pocket region or when women reached for their torsos or collarbones. South Koreans reported exceptionally low acceptance of women using the devices anywhere except for their arms. "South Koreans also said they wanted an easy-to-use system, but the technology should not make them look awkward or weird," Profita said. "This isn't surprising because their culture emphasizes modesty, politeness and avoidance of embarrassing situations."
*-- Process that might help regrow damaged nerve cells identified --*ST. LOUIS - A process triggering the regrowth of damaged nerve cell branches may help improve treatments for injuries that can cause paralysis, U.S. researchers say. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a chain reaction involved in the regrowth process in some cells, the university reported Thursday. Nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are missing a link in this chain reaction -- a protein called HDAC5 -- which may help explain why these cells are unlikely to regrow lost branches on their own, they said. A method of activating HDAC5 in the central nervous system may turn on regeneration of nerve cell branches in this region, where injuries often cause lasting paralysis, they said. "We knew several genes that contribute to the regrowth of these nerve cell branches, which are called axons, but until now we didn't know what activated the expression of these genes and, hence, the repair process," neurobiology Professor Valeria Cavalli said. "This puts us a step closer to one day being able to develop treatments that enhance axon regrowth." Axons, the branches of nerve cells that send messages, are typically are much longer and more vulnerable to injury than dendrites, the branches that receive messages. In the peripheral nervous system -- outside the brain and spinal column -- cells sometimes naturally regenerate damaged axons with the help of HDAC5, but in the central nervous system injured nerve cells typically do not replace lost axons after injury. In central nervous system cells, the protein HDAC5 never reaches the site of the injury; the failure to get this essential player out of the nucleus may be one of the most important reasons why central nervous system cells do not regenerate axons, the researchers said. "This gives us the hope that if we can find ways to manipulate this system in brain and spinal cord neurons, we can help the cells of the central nervous system regrow lost branches," Cavalli said. "We're working on that now."
***Missed an Issue? Visit the Gizmorama Archives