One Stem Cell Injection to Target Inflammation Slashed Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke By 58%:
Dr. Perin holds up the stem cell treatment – Texas Heart Institute
A large trial showed that a single injection of a patient’s own stem cells into their heart was able to reduce inflammation and risk of heart attack and stroke by 58% if they had heart failure. It’s the largest clinical trial of cell therapy for heart disease to date and demonstrated several positive results. The therapy technique was developed by cardiologists at the Texas Heart Institute to address the inflammation associated with heart disease. The process involves taking stem cells taken from a patient’s bone marrow called mesenchymal precursor cells, which are replicated in a lab via proprietary methods developed by a pharmaceutical company called Mesoblast and injected straight into the heart. In the trial, the treatment not only was tolerated well by patients but also increased the ability of their hearts to pump higher blood volumes.
Moths Are More Efficient Pollinators Than Bees, Shows New Research:
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain
Moths are more efficient pollinators at night than day-flying pollinators such as bees according to new research from the University of Sussex. Studying 10 sites in the South East of England throughout July 2021, the Sussex researchers found that 83% of insect visits to bramble flowers were made during the day. While the moths made fewer visits during the shorter summer nights, notching up only 15% of the visits, they were able to pollinate the flowers more quickly.
Stressed Plants Make Ultrasonic Clicking Noises:
Using ultrasonic microphones (pictured), scientists detected clicking noises made by various types of plants. OHAD LEWIN-EPSTEIN
Dry tomato and tobacco plants emit distinct ultrasonic clicks according to scientist’s research in the research journal Cell. The study was performed by Alexandre Ponomarenko and her colleages at Tel Aviv University by using ultrasonic microphones to capture sounds emitted by plants when stressed. Various plants including tobacco, tomato plants, wheat, and others were contained withing sound dampening boxes and were put under stresses for water and cutting, with the control being unaffected. What they found was plants emitting sounds like popping bubble wrap and the sounds differed in frequency by plant type, the type of stress (cuts of the plant, water and nutrient stresses, ext), and the magnitude of the stress (where cuts were performed, how much water and nutrient stress was applied). An algorithm created by another team also determined that plants even may have their own distinct voices. While nothing is completely for certain, the research is an interesting step forward for our understanding of plants and can help us monitor them for agricultural purposes.
Sources:
Moths are more efficient pollinators than bees, shows new research (phys.org)
Stressed plants make ultrasonic clicking noises (sciencenews.org)