Nanopatch could be new way to repair heart damage

When you suffer a heart attack, a part of your heart dies. In tests, a new nanopatch shows promise in helping bring dead regions of the heart back to life.

“This whole idea is to put something where dead tissue is to help regenerate it, so that you eventually have a healthy heart,” says David Stout, an engineering graduate student at Brown University and lead author of the paper published in Acta Biomaterialia.

The approach, if successful, would help millions of people. In 2009, some 785,000 Americans suffered a new heart attack linked to weakness caused by the scarred cardiac muscle from a previous heart attack, according to the American Heart Association. Just as ominously, statistics show that a third of women and a fifth of men who have experienced a heart attack will have another one within six years.

What is unique about the experiments at Brown and at the India Institute of Technology Kanpur is the engineers employed carbon nanofibers, helical-shaped tubes with diameters between 60 and 200 nanometers. The carbon nanofibers work well because they are excellent conductors of electrons, performing the kind of electrical connections the heart relies upon for keeping a steady beat.
The researchers stitched the nanofibers together using a poly lactic-co-glycolic acid polymer to form a mesh about 22 millimeters long and 15 microns thick and resembling “a black Band Aid,” Stout says. They laid the mesh on a glass substrate to test whether heart tissue cells known as cardiomyocytes would colonize the surface and grow more cells.

In tests with the 200-nanometer-diameter carbon nanofibers seeded with cardiomyocytes, five times as many heart-tissue cells colonized the surface after four hours than with a control sample consisting of the polymer only. After five days, the density of the surface was six times greater than the control sample, the researchers report. Neuron density had also doubled after four days.

The scaffold works because it is elastic and durable, and can thus expand and contract much like heart tissue, says Thomas Webster, associate professor in engineering and orthopaedics at Brown and the corresponding author on the paper. It’s because of these properties and the carbon nanofibers that cardiomyocytes and neurons congregate on the scaffold and spawn new cells, in effect regenerating the area.

The scientists want to tweak the scaffold pattern to better mimic the electrical current of the heart, as well as build an in-vitro model to test how the material reacts to the heart’s voltage and beat regime. They also want to make sure the cardiomyocytes that grow on the scaffolds are endowed with the same abilities as other heart-tissue cells.

The Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum, the Hermann Foundation, the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, the government of India and California State University funded the research.

Mother who tried to get pregnant for eight years finally gives birth after she's injected with yolk from CHICKEN EGG

A woman who struggled to fall pregnant for eight years has given birth to a baby boy after she was injected with chicken egg yolk.

Leanne Blackwell, 38, and her plumber husband Andy, 48, had been trying to conceive since 2003 and spent £15,000 of IVF without success.

Then in 2010, Dr George Ndukwe, from Care Fertility in Nottingham discovered the couple had incompatible immune systems.
Leanne's overactive immune system was producing cells that were killing her fertilized eggs before they could develop.

He suggested a novel approach to lower her immune system - by injecting her with protein taken from a chicken egg.

Mrs Blackwell was given an intralipid solution containing a combination of egg extracts and soy oil through a drip, before being inseminated with the couple's fertilised eggs.

Research shows the fatty acids in the egg reduce the number of killer cells in the immune system.

Finally in May 2010 Leanne discovered she was pregnant, and gave birth to baby Martyn weighing 6lbs 13oz in February this year.

Leanne, who is a driving instructor, said: 'Holding Martyn in my arms for the first time was amazing, and the fact we had waited for so long made it all the more powerful'.

'I didn't realise how depressed I was getting about not being able to have a family.

'I couldn't even go to Asda without getting upset. It seemed like pregnant women were everywhere, and it was just a reminder it wasn't happening for us.'

After reading about the possible effects of her immune system on pregnancy, Leanne requested an immunology test.

The Chicago Test, revealed that Leanne body was producing a high number of killer cells which would treat any fertilised embryo as a foreign body.

After two failed IVF attempts, the couple from Grantham, decided to give it one more try using the food supplements.

'We had hit rock bottom. Andy and I had totally expected it to work.

'We talked about adoption. People would say to us: "when you stop trying, that's when it happens", but I didn't want to give up on having a family.'

'We decided to give IVF one more try with these new drugs.

'It's amazing to think that something quite simple has given us our baby.'

Leanne was given two sessions of the intralipid solution, both before and after she became pregnant. It is believed the solution interferes with the signal to the immune system reducing the number of killer cells.

'I had to wait two weeks to take my pregnancy test, I was so excited I got up at 5am to find out the result', says Leanne.

'After so many years of waiting, I couldn't believe it when I finally got a positive result. I just started bawling in the bathroom'.

After discovering she was expecting, it was important to maintain a low functioning immune system while the baby was developing.

As a result she was susceptible to infection and disease, and had to be extra vigilant throughout her pregnancy.

'I got a couple of bouts of food poisoning which wasn't nice. But everything was worth it in the end.

'Having Martyn is awesome, it was all worth it!'

Simon Thornton, Group Medical Director, CARE Fertility said: 'We believe that this treatment is important for women and families because there seems to be a subset of fertility patients who have developed, effectively, over active immune systems and this is contributing to their fertility difficulties.

'This treatment is inexpensive, well tolerated and easy to administer

'We have devoted time to finding answers when nature goes wrong'

Stab in the Backistan = Pakistan

Pele fertility doctor 'deceived IVF parents'

A Brazilian fertility expert who helped Pele father twins is suspected of having deceived large numbers of patients into bringing up children that are not genetically theirs.
Roger Abdelmassih is on the run from police after being convicted of sexually assaulting or raping 39 female patients at his clinic.

New evidence gathered by police and public prosecutors suggests that many of the 8,000 babies born after IVF treatment by him and his team may not be the biological children of the couples raising them. There is no suggestion this is the case with Pele.
The authorities believe that Abdelmassih, 67, misled many customers by implanting embryos formed from eggs and sperm of other people to increase his chances of success.
DNA tests have already found at least three cases where children born after IVF treatment at his clinic in Sao Paulo are not the genetic offspring of one of the paying parents.
But according to Epoca, a weekly Brazilian news magazine which has seen evidence collected by the authorities, this could be just the tip of the iceberg.
Abdelmassih treated a string of high-profile clients including Pele who fathered twins with his second wife in 1996 at the age of 55 and after having earlier undergone a vasectomy.
His clinic's IVF success rate hit 47 per cent in recent years compared to an average of around 32 per cent in Latin America and less than 30 per cent in Britain.
Such a high level of success will increase fears that Abdelmassih may have fooled large numbers of patients over a period of two decades.
Abdelmassih was sentenced to 278 years in jail in November last year after he was found guilty of attacking female patients between 1995 and 2007 but went missing after being allowed to remain free pending an appeal.

Road Rage:)

These photos are from Thursday, Feb. 17 by someone from Centurion in Pilanesberg game reserve, South Africa.

The guy in the white Volkswagen was trying to get past the elephant.

Road rage, it affects us all!

Twitter Vigilante Reclaims a Stranger’s Stolen Laptop After Police Refuse to Help

Twitter helps break news and aid in political uprisings, but after one guy helped recover the stolen laptop of a stranger he followed on Twitter, it seems the social network is also going to revive a dying breed: the vigilante.

After Sean Power had his laptop stolen in New York City, he used Prey—the awesome (and FREE) tracking software—located the laptop, obtained the culprit's Skype name and snaped a screenshot of the guy using it. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to file a police report before having to leave NYC for a few days, so when he finally tracked down his computer, the cops more or less refused to help. That's when Power started tweeting.

What ensued was a flurry of tweets from followers who dug up all sorts of info on the accused, while spreading the word. A female friend of Power's was already at the bar where Prey had pinpointed the computer, but was hesitant to try and handle the situation alone.

But a complete stranger, Nick Reese, happened to be in the neighborhood where the laptop was located. After receiving links to the unfolding saga, debating whether or not to help, and having friends prod him, he finally hopped a cab and went down to the bar.

Once there, he casually confronted the thief (who worked—or possibly owned—the bar where he was using the computer), and got the laptop back with little resistance, scoring a victory for Twitter nerds everywhere. There's a whole, chronological twitter stream here, detailing what went down in realtime. And it's a pretty entertaining story to skim through, involving highs, lows, moments of doubt and multiple characters.

And internet, can we keep crowdsourcing all our law enforcement needs? With local police squads going bankrupt all around the country, I'm all about a bunch of shadowy, hockey-masked randoms popping up to save the day.

-Adrian Covert

Sheex Performance Bed Sheets

You know those workout shirts that keep you cool and dry? Like from Under Armour and Nike? These Sheex "performance" bedsheets are made out of the same material. And they're pretty much perfect for any type of activity you do in bed.

PLUSSES
Holy baby bottoms, these sheets are soft. You definitely feel the roots of performance wear, but the softness is more similar to satin or silk (but obviously more durable). There's a purposeful weight and texture to it, which lets your body breathe while keeping you warm. It's fantastic really—I've slept on many a high thread count and on the cotton of Phaorohs but none were as versatile as Sheex.

The set comes with a fitted sheet, a flat sheet and two pillowcases all made from the same 87% polyester/13% spandex fabric blend. Once you put the Sheex on, your bed becomes one constant cool side of the pillow. For a person like me, who gets hot easily, and lives in a city that stays hot midyear, Sheex is an absolute oasis. Or I guess deodorant if you're a sweaty sleeper. Either way, I've been sleeping wonderfully since I started using Sheex.

But, um, how do 'performance sheets' perform when you perform?

You are who you are, of course, but let's put it this way: Sheex eliminates the messy variables of night time relations. The fitted bed sheet is tight and stretchy so it wraps itself perfectly around the mattress so there's no needless fabric flapping around. This is crucial, as it gives you a blank slate for your penetrative masterpieces: you can spin, tango, and switch gears any which way without ever getting your knees, elbows or any of your other body parts caught in your sheets. Cotton is for virgins, people.

As for those who partake on solo missions, the flat sheet grooves itself onto your body, caressing its polyester around your knees and ankles while giving breathability to your backside. It's as easy as ever to find peace within yourself.

MINUSES
If you have any rough patches on your body (back of your heels, etc), rubbing against the sheets will make your rough skin feel like the carcasses of burnt alligators. It scratches and it's not fun knowing how gross your feet are. Also, because of Sheex's materials, it doesn't retain that 'fresh laundry' scent. And, lastly! The bed sheets might be so awesome that your impromptu one night bed dance partner (what was his/her name?) might want to stay with you through the morning after.

$200 for a Queen Set, Sheex

-Casey Chan