Laser Microscope Reveals Stunning 3D Images Of The Brain In Unprecedented Detail

Laser Microscope Reveals Stunning 3D Images Of The Brain In Unprecedented Detail
A revolutionary new laser-enabled microscope has been able to capture the stunning intricacies of the brain in unprecedented detail.

These incredibly detailed images are helping us better understand the brain on a cellular level and in turn how it can go wrong in the form of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Developed by Scottish technology firm M Squared, the Aurora light-sheet microscope is able to produce 3D images accurate enough to capture the neural connections themselves.

This stunning image actually shows the nerves ‘firing’ inside the brain of a mouse revealing just how fantastically complex it is.

By being able to better see our brains and in turn see how they work in 3D, these images are helping further our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.

The Aurora microscope is able to capture high-contrast 3D images up to 500 times faster than conventional confocal microscopy techniques.

Being able to accurately map large biological structures at the cellular level has proven difficult in the past.

While we know that certain chemicals can induce changes in how the brain operates (in the case of Alzheimer’s for example) what we know far less about however is how they interact with each other at the sub-micron level.

Aurora enables scientists and researchers to do this.

Dr Deepak Srivastava, Director of the Wohl Cellular Imaging Centre at Kings College London commended the performance of the new microscope saying:

“The Wohl Cellular Imaging Centre (WCIC) provides advanced and cutting-edge light microscopy solutions for neuroscientists and related life sciences with the aim of helping to advance breakthrough discoveries in the development and treatment of life-changing illnesses.”

“Aurora has already allowed researchers to gain unprecedented insight into key scientific questions.”

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/laser-microscope-reveals-stunning-3d-images-of-the-brain-in-unprecedented-detail_uk_5a0488b8e4b0f76b05c40cd2

Women Who’ve Had HPV Vaccine Only Need Three Cervical Screenings In Lifetime, Research Suggests

Women Who’ve Had HPV Vaccine Only Need Three Cervical Screenings In Lifetime, Research Suggests
No one enjoys going for cervical screening but we all know those uncomfortable few minutes could be life-saving.

The good news is that women may only need three cervical screens – formerly known as smear tests – in their lifetime if they have been given the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.

Currently, women aged 25 to 49 are advised to undergo cervical screening every three years, while those aged 50 to 64 are invited every five years under the NHS.

However, new research, funded by Cancer Research UK and conducted by a team from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), found that a cervical screening at ages 30, 40 and 55 would offer “the same benefit” to vaccinated women as the 12 lifetime screens currently offered in England.

The results are based on how the HPV vaccine and the improved cervical screening programme will work best together. The new programme, called ‘HPV primary testing’, is set to be introduced in England by December 2019.

It means that cervical samples are tested for HPV but only checked for abnormal cells if the virus is found. The current test checks for abnormalities first, which is less efficient.

Scotland and Wales are also making their own plans to introduce this new HPV test.

Since 2008, the HPV vaccine has been offered to schoolgirls and is usually given to girls in year eight. The first group to receive the vaccines are now reaching the age for their first cervical screening invitation.

The new research suggests that these women can still be effectively protected from cervical cancer with fewer screens, which could also save the NHS resources.

Professor Peter Sasieni, Cancer Research UK’s screening expert and lead author based at QMUL, said: “The NHS should benefit from the investment that it’s made by introducing the vaccination programme. These women are far less likely to develop cervical cancer, so they don’t need such stringent routine checking as those at a higher risk.

“This decision would free up resources for where they are needed most. The change in the screening system is a unique opportunity to reassess how often women are invited for cervical screens during their lifetimes.”

HPV infects most unvaccinated people (eight out of 10) at some point in their lives. Most infections go away on their own, but if an infection is not cleared it can go on to cause cervical cancer.

According to Cancer Research UK, without HPV infection there would be almost no cases of cervical cancer in the UK.

The current HPV vaccine protects women against the four most dangerous forms of HPV, which are responsible for causing 70% of all cervical cancer cases.

As the risk of cervical cancer is considerably reduced after vaccination, the study suggests that the number of screens should be decreased accordingly, avoiding unnecessary procedures for women.

The study also suggests that unvaccinated women should only need seven lifetime screens when the new test comes in, five fewer than is currently standard.

Dr Julie Sharp, head of health information at Cancer Research UK, said: “This is great news for women. The cervical screening programme is already very successful, and has led to a dramatic fall in deaths from the disease since its introduction.

“While we hope to see these improvements to the screening programme in the future, it’s important that women continue to take up invitations for cervical screening. So if you’re all set for your next screen, keep that appointment.”

The research is published in full in the International Journal of Cancer.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/women-who-had-hpv-jab-only-need-three-cervical-screenings-in-a-lifetime-research-suggests_uk_5a04707de4b0937b511019d7

Stranger Things, Madonna, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Danica Roem, Shinzo Abe, Jeffrey Tambor, Vatican: HOT LINKS

Stranger Things, Madonna, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Danica Roem, Shinzo Abe, Jeffrey Tambor, Vatican: HOT LINKS
Alex Lo

DANICA ROEM. Lawrence O’Donnell speaks to the newly-elected transgender delegate in Virginia. Also, she got a call and a tweet from Joe Biden.

Newly elected Virginia delegate Danica Roem after getting a congratulatory call from Joe Biden last night. Photo by The Washington Post’s @jaheezus. pic.twitter.com/bsEDQ38Xer

— Dan Zak (@MrDanZak) November 8, 2017

You’re going to make us all proud, Danica. t.co/doouBh0qME

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 9, 2017

MEDDLING. Russia Twitter trolls deflected Trump bad news: ‘The AP examined 36,210 tweets from Aug. 31, 2015, to Nov. 10, 2016, posted by 382 of the Russian accounts that Twitter shared with congressional investigators last week. Twitter deactivated the accounts, deleting the tweets and making them inaccessible on the internet. But a limited selection of the accounts’ Twitter activity was retrieved by matching account handles against an archive obtained by AP.’

TUMBLE OF THE DAY. Japanese PM Shinzo Abe fell and rolled back into a bunker while playing golf with Trump.

RAND PAUL. Senator retweets articles claiming attack was not about landscaping. ‘Paul tweeted a report from The Washington Examiner that claims the neighbor accused of attacking the senator “was aggressively anti-Trump and anti-GOP.” The report also quotes two of Paul’s neighbors who question the notion that the attack was centered on landscaping.’

JEFFREY TAMBOR. Former assistant accuses Transparent actor of sexual harassment: ‘An Amazon spokesperson confirmed to Deadline that the company has initiated an investigation. In a statement, Tambor himself calls the claims “baseless.”’

HOLY SEE. New book alleges gay sex in Vatican dorm.

DENMARK. Imam gets suspended sentence for anti-gay remarks: “The city court in Viborg, 260 kilometers (160 miles) northwest of Copenhagen, said Thursday that Mohamad Jammal had violated Denmark’s penal code in newspaper interviews in June 2016 following the attack at Orlando’s Pulse gay nightclub, where 49 people were shot dead.”

ED WESTWICK. Second actress accuses Gossip Girl star of sexual assault.

PARIS. Striking art deco swimming pool reopens.

SOPHIE ELLIS BEXTOR. The British songstress is doing an orchestral Greatest Hits album: ‘The album will cover her entire career, from her stint in The Audience to her string of turn-of-the-millennium dance hits and subsequent foray into folk-tinged pop. “My next album will be an album of my greatest hits reworked with an orchestra!” she tweeted. “I’m so excited about this project, which will be out in Spring 2018.”’

COVER OF THE DAY. Madonna does Elliot Smith “Between the Bars”.

Between the Bars…………??strumming my favorite song when everyone else is asleep. ♥️ Eliot Smith ??#prayer #lullaby #love pic.twitter.com/i0JvwvMaPA

— Madonna (@Madonna) November 9, 2017

18 CAR PILE UP. Heavy fog near Delhi, India.

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE DAY. Pussy Riot “Police State”.

MOTOWN SUPER GROUP OF THE DAY. James Corden and the Stranger Things kids.

THIRSTY THURSDAY. Alex Lo.

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Stranger Things, Madonna, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Danica Roem, Shinzo Abe, Jeffrey Tambor, Vatican: HOT LINKS