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Mind-controlled Prostheses now clinical reality Scientists developed prosthetic limbs that can be controlled by a patient's mind. A new bone-anchored implant system are giving patients new opportunities with robotic limbs. Researchers used osseointegration to make long-term stable blend between man and machine, where the team integrated them at different levels. "The artificial arm is directly attached to the skeleton, thus providing mechanical stability. Then the human's biological control system, that is nerves and muscles, is also interfaced to the machine's control system via neuromuscular electrodes. This creates an intimate union between the body and the machine; between biology and mechatronics," explains Max Ortiz Catalan, research scientist at Chalmers University of Technology. However, he said that reliable communication between the prosthesis and the body has been the "missing link" for the clinical implementation of neural control and sensory feedback. "So far we have shown that the patient has a long-term stable ability to perceive touch in different locations in the missing hand. Intuitive sensory feedback and control are crucial for interacting with the environment, for example to reliable hold an object despite disturbances or uncertainty. Today, no patient walks around with a prosthesis that provides such information, but we are working towards changing that in the very short term," he said. Potential cure for type 2 Diabetes in the offing A certain drug effective in killing intestinal parasites might be possible cure for type-2 diabetes, according to a new research from Rutgers University. Led by Victor Shengkan Jin, an associate professor of pharmacology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, the study involved burning fat inside liver cells through a process called mitochondrial uncoupling. Fat present in liver cells stops it from absorbing glucose in blood which leads to excess glucose accumulation which causes type -2 diabetes and its consequences like blindness. The researchers used mice to perform proof-of-principle experiments in the laboratory. "We succeeded in removing fat, and that in turn improved the animals' ability to use insulin correctly and reduce blood sugar." Researchers aimed to find a safe compound that would help reduce fat inside cells. From literature the study team found a drug to kill parasites which could be used in human liver cells. DePartMent AdvAnCES 20 MacDirectory