Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DMYclQUtf3d/

The bioengineering wizards at MIT’s Yang Center for Bionics have developed the most advanced prosthesis for above-knee amputees. Termed the osseointegrated mechanoneural prosthesis or OMP, it combines a sophisticated bionic knee with a titanium implant in the femur and connections into the wearer’s thigh muscles and nervous system permitting thought control of the units motions.

The clinical trial participants using the OMP walked faster, climbed stairs more readily, and were able to avoid obstacles better than those using more conventional prostheses. Users also reported that their limb felt like a part of their body due to improved sensory feedback.

This prosthesis represents a new level of integration between human and machine. Fitting with this prosthesis requires special surgical considerations at the time of amputation.

Further refinements and clinical trials lie ahead, and the developers expect this cutting edge prosthesis will be widely available in about 5 years or less. Considering its complexity, this is literally…….someday soon

https://mcgovern.mit.edu/2025/07/10/a-bionic-knee-integrated-into-tissue-can-restore-natural-movement/

#osseointegration #mechanoneural #aboveknee #prosthesis #mit

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DMYbs7tJz7Q/

A new so-called “tetra-functional” diet compound has added power and its effects match the weight loss result of bariatric surgery. Chemists at Boston’s Tufts University have engineered a next-generation compound that mimics the action of four different gut hormones involved in appetite control, metabolism, and energy use. They are GLP-1, GIP, glucagon, and the uncommonly mimicked PYY.

This novel chimeric peptide could deliver up to 30% body weight loss. That effect exceeds the effects of our current crop of weight loss drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide, marketed as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro. Semaglutide mimics only GLP1 while tirzepatide mimics both GLP1 and GIP.

This compound is newly discovered and not yet ready for clinical application. When it is, this powerful agent will be an invaluable help for those suffering from excess weight and weight-induced health problems including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. The hope is that it will quickly move from the laboratory bench into preclinical and clinical trials…..someday soon.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250612081323.htm

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.5c04095

#obesity #semaglutide #tirzepatide #diet #glp1 #gip #glucagon #pyy

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DMYbAAEvCa2/

The trend in the US and elsewhere around the globe is for children to enter puberty at earlier ages. Researchers are searching for an explanation, and the sweet and sweetened foods that preteens consume may hold at least a partial answer.

It turns out that, for boys, the artificial sweetener sucralose, found in Splenda and many foods and drinks, increases the risk of so-called precocious puberty. For girls, glycyrrhizin, found in licorice, herbal teas, and other drinks as well as sucralose and natural sugars all increase a preteen girl’s likelihood of earlier puberty.

Chinese researchers presented studies supporting these conclusions recently to the Endocrine Society’s 2025 annual meeting. Their research included data from 1,407 teens. The early puberty diagnosis was based on medical exams, hormone levels, and scans The teens' sweetener and sweets intake was quantitated via validated questionnaires and urine tests.

These findings, if confirmed, could lead to modifications of dietary recommendations for young children and preteens. Meanwhile, these highly suggestive data are excellent reasons for parents to limit their children’s intake of sugars, both artificial and natural.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250714052231.htm#google_vignette

#sugar #puberty #sucralose #glycyrrhizin #precocious #boys #girls