(Press-News.org) Gastric bypass surgery is sometimes the last resort for those who struggle with obesity or have serious health-related issues due to their weight. Since this procedure involves making a small stomach pouch and rerouting the digestive tract, it is very invasive and prolongs the recovery period for patients. In a new study, researchers at Texas A&M University have described a medical device that might help with weight loss and requires a simpler operative procedure for implantation.
Researchers said their centimeter-sized device provides the feeling of fullness by stimulating the endings of the vagus nerve with light. Unlike other devices that require a power cord, their device is wireless and can be controlled externally from a remote radio frequency source.
"We wanted to create a device that not only requires minimal surgery for implantation but also allows us to stimulate specific nerve endings in the stomach," said Dr. Sung II Park, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "Our device has the potential to do both of these things in the harsh gastric conditions, which, in the future, can be hugely beneficial to people needing dramatic weight-loss surgeries."
Further details about their device are published in the January issue of END
Tiny wireless device sheds light on combating obesity
Texas A&M researchers have designed a device that stimulates the endings of the vagus nerve, which is responsible for the regulation of food intake
2021-01-08
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Study reveals jellyfish create a 'virtual wall' to enhance performance
2021-01-08
TAMPA, Fla. (Jan. 8, 2021)- New research led by the University of South Florida has uncovered one of the reasons jellyfish have come to be known as the "world's most efficient swimmer." Brad Gemmell, associate professor of integrative biology, found jellyfish produce two vortex rings, which are donut-shaped bodies of fluid underneath their translucent bodies, that spin in opposite directions. They appear as jellyfish squeeze and reopen throughout each swim cycle, providing a "ground effect" force as if they were to be pushing off the seafloor.
The "ground effect" is most widely understood ...
Scientists from St. Petersburg University discovered the virus-like particles in Bryozoa
2021-01-08
Scientists from Russia, Austria, and the USA have discovered virus-like particles in the bacterial symbionts of Bryozoa - a phylum of colonial aquatic invertebrates - filter-feeders dominating in many bottom ecosystems. The research project was planned and supervised by scientists from St Petersburg University. Some of the virus-like particles resemble red blood cells, while others have a sea-urchin-like appearance. Although viruses have never been reported inside symbiotic bacteria in bryozoans, scientists suggest that this "matryoshka doll" may have a prominent effect on the bacterial ...
Measuring racial inequities in COVID-19 testing
2021-01-08
What The Study Did: This study adapted a well-established tool for measuring inequity from economics--the Lorenz curve--to measure racial inequities in COVID-19 testing.
Author: Aaloke Mody, M.D., of the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.32696)
Editor's Note: The article includes funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.
INFORMATION:
Media ...
Study: Religion, psychology share methods for reducing distress
2021-01-08
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Religious people facing life crises rely on emotion-regulation strategies that psychologists also use, a new study finds. They look for positive ways of thinking about hardship, a practice known to psychologists as "cognitive reappraisal." They also tend to have confidence in their ability to cope with difficulty, a trait called "coping self-efficacy." Both have been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.
The new findings are reported in the Journal of Religion and Health.
"It appears that religious people are making use of some of the same tools that psychologists have systematically identified as effective in ...
Ferroptosis resistance in cancer: An emerging crisis of new hope
2021-01-08
Announcing a new publication for BIO Integration journal. In this opinion article the authors Daiyun Xu, Yonghui Lü, Yongxiao Li, Shengbin Li, Zhe Wang and Junqing Wang from Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China discuss ferroptosis resistance in cancer.
Ferroptosis is a lethal consequence of accumulated lipid peroxidation catalyzed by ferrous iron and oxygen. This unique cell death process appears to involve many diseases, such as neurodegeneration, ischemia/ reperfusion injury, kidney disease, and a druggable target in therapy-resistant cancers. Ferroptosis may provide hope for ...
We hear what we expect to hear
2021-01-08
Humans depend on their senses to perceive the world, themselves and each other. Despite senses being the only window to the outside world, people do rarely question how faithfully they represent the external physical reality. During the last 20 years, neuroscience research has revealed that the cerebral cortex constantly generates predictions on what will happen next, and that neurons in charge of sensory processing only encode the difference between our predictions and the actual reality.
A team of neuroscientists of TU Dresden headed by Prof Dr Katharina von Kriegstein presents new findings that show that not only the cerebral cortex, but ...
Researchers realize efficient generation of high-dimensional quantum teleportation
2021-01-08
In a study published in Physical Review Letters, the team led by academician GUO Guangcan from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) made progress in high dimensional quantum teleportation. The researchers demonstrated the teleportation of high-dimensional states in a three-dimensional six-photon system.
To transmit unknown quantum states from one location to another, quantum teleportation is one of the key technologies to realize the long-distance transmission.
Compared with two-dimensional ...
USTC develops ultrahigh-performance plasmonic metal-oxide materials
2021-01-08
In a study published in Advanced Materials, the researchers from Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, the University of Science and Technology of China of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, using an electron-proton co-doping strategy, invented a new metal-like semiconductor material with excellent plasmonic resonance performance. This material achieves a metal-like ultrahigh free-carrier concentration that leads to strong and tunable plasmonic field.
Plasmonic materials are widely used in the fields including microscopy, sensing, optical computing and photovoltaics. Most common plasmonic materials are gold and silver. Some other materials ...
Understanding how to improve antibodies targeting OX40 for the treatment of cancer
2021-01-08
Scientists at the University of Southampton's Centre for Cancer Immunology have gained new insight into how the immune system can be better used to find and kill cancer cells.
Working with BioInvent International, a team led by Professor Mark Cragg and Dr Jane Willoughby from the Antibody and Vaccine Group, based at the Centre, have shown that antibodies, designed to target the molecule OX40, give a more active immune response when they bind closer to the cell membrane and can be modified to attack cancer in different ways.
OX40 is a 'co-receptor' that helps to stimulate the production of helper and killer T-cells during an immune ...
How 'Iron Man' bacteria could help protect the environment
2021-01-08
When Michigan State University's Gemma Reguera first proposed her new research project to the National Science Foundation, one grant reviewer responded that the idea was not "environmentally relevant."
As other reviewers and the program manager didn't share this sentiment, NSF funded the proposal. And, now, Reguera's team has shown that microbes are capable of an incredible feat that could help reclaim a valuable natural resource and soak up toxic pollutants.
"The lesson is that we really need to think outside the box, especially in biology. We just know the tip of the iceberg. Microbes have been on earth for billions of years, and to think that they can't do something precludes us from so many ideas and applications," said Reguera, a professor in ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Submersible robot surfs water currents
Using brain scans to forecast human choice at scale
AI’s emotional blunting effect
Modifying graphene with plasma to produce better gas sensors
Study reveals Africa will reach 1.5C climate change threshold by 2040 even under low emission scenarios
Researchers discover 16 new Alzheimer’s disease susceptibility genes
We need a new definition of dyslexia, research says
Young women suffering menopause symptoms in silence, study reveals
Rebels of health care use technology to connect with clinicians, information, and each other
Smart is sexy: evolution of intelligence partly driven by love
Have we been wrong about why Mars is red?
Screening & treating maternal psychological health key to improving cardiovascular health
Childhood trauma increases incidence of heart disease in Black women, Emory study finds
Why is Mars red? Scientists may finally have the answer
Research challenges our understanding of cancer predisposition
What makes cancer cells weak
Robots learn how to move by watching themselves
MD Anderson researchers develop novel antibody-toxin conjugate
One in ten older South Asian immigrants in Canada have hypothyroidism
Substantial portion of cancer patients in early trials access drugs that are later approved
New study calls for ethical framework to protect Indigenous genetic privacy in wastewater monitoring
Common medications may affect brain development through unexpected cholesterol disruption
Laser-powered device tested on Earth could help us detect microbial fossils on Mars
Non-destructive image sensor goes beyond bulkiness
1st Japanese version of US psychological scale for esophageal symptoms
HikingTTE: a deep learning approach for hiking travel time estimation based on personal walking ability
Environment nudges birds to fast, or slow, life lane
The U-shaped relationship between admission peripheral oxygen saturation and all-cause hospital mortality in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a retrospective analysis using
New research highlights wide variation in prostate cancer testing between GP practices
Antidepressants linked to faster cognitive decline in dementia
[Press-News.org] Tiny wireless device sheds light on combating obesityTexas A&M researchers have designed a device that stimulates the endings of the vagus nerve, which is responsible for the regulation of food intake