From Tokyo University, we may soon be getting mice that are no longer afraid of cats. If this does happen, won’t the point behind the cartoon Tom & Jerry be rather moot?

Apparently, what makes mice fear cats is the smell that cats emit. In certain experiments, the Japanese scientists were able to genetically switch off these nasal cells in the mice thus causing them to no longer pick up the feline scents.

Research team leader, Ko Kobayakawa even said that these mice played and even nuzzled up against the cats. The cats chosen were domesticated cats as I am sure wild cats wouldn’t have twice about pouncing and munching on an overtly friendly mouse!

The purpose of the study is to find out the causes of fear and how to treat it (presumably in humans rather than animals). But if one of these genetically modified rats got out and mated with normal rats…imagine the chaos that could ensue when they no longer feared their number 1 enemy.

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Tesofensine, a drug developed for the treatment of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s has been found to be as effective as a weight loss solution. More accurately, studies conducted noted an average loss of 2 stones in 6 months. These early experiments would suggest that the drug is the best on the market for weight loss with obese patients losing about 10 percent of their body weight quickly.

How the drug works is that its chemicals target the region of the brain which controls hunger and appetite. Although further tests need to be conducted, researchers from Cambridge University claim that they may have found the answer to our weighty problems.

Professor Steve O’Rahilly added that this discovery could mean that obesity, in the near future, could be treated with “effective and affordable” drugs just like what is done for sufferers of high blood pressure.

There are however side effects which include problems with the bowels and nausea. Having said so, the drug may become the next big thing seeing that the number of prescription weight loss pills handed out last year in the United Kingdom surpassed the one million mark.

 These findings are from the Lancet and excerpts can be read at: http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/neurosearch-announces-publication-lancet-tesofensine-proof-concept-results-tipo-1

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Forget the sound of music because now we can hear the sound of space. Research carried out in France using their Corot space telescope has been successful in recording sounds emitted from 3 stars similar to the Sun.

Stellar seismology could allow scientists to study the inner structure of stars in the galaxy. This particular study has confirmed that stars (well, these 3 at least, pulsate). In short stellar seismology is a means of looking into stars using the principle of acoustic oscillations. Among other things, it has been used in the past to determine the chemical compositions, density, rotations, convective zone depth, internal temperature and magnetic fields with unprecedented precision.

I have not personally listened to these stars but if you want to, some people have said that it resembles those from the Star Trek franchise. Perhaps Gene Roddenberry had it right all along!

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Say goodbye to different keys that take up valuable space in your hand bag or weigh down your already heavy, pocket laden pants…because mentalists at Makers Local 256 have created an incredible new door locking system based on the humble USB stick.

To be more precise, you could use anything that has a USB end attached to it and voila! problem solved. They claim that the system is so secure that unless someone steals your USB device, the lock is intruder-proof.

The clever system works by using the serial number in the chip itself. So be it a memory stick, an iPod, or even an external hard drive for that matter, it’s all good. You just insert the USB part into a core which is connected to a PC. The PC then reads the serial number and compares it to a list of ‘safe’ serial numbers it stores (obviously because it’s your house, it should be your computer and so it recognises your USB key). After which the computer sends signals to a Microcontroller which then unlocks the door.

Makers Local 256 have created a set of instructions on how to build one at https://256.makerslocal.org/wiki/index.php/USB_Auth or http://hackaday.com/2008/10/22/usb-authenticated-deadbolt-lock/. Apparently, the whole project will cost you only USD 60.00.

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In August 2005, Josh Villa’s life changed forever. Driving home from work and after having a drink with a friend, his car hit a curb and flipped over. He suffered extensive head injuries which lead to him falling into a deep coma after being thrown through the windscreen of his car. At 26 years old, most people thought that was the end of the road for Josh. A year later, he was moved home to Rockford in Illinois where his mother, Laurie McAndrews cared for him.

But on the 16 October 2008, experts from the US Department of Veterans Affairs in Chicago successfully managed to rouse Josh Villa from his coma. It was with the help of Theresa Pape who initially suggested Villa be enrolled in a six week study on electromagnetic currents and its effects on brain tissue. Pape revealed that transcrannial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, has already been considered as a treatment for migraine, stroke, depression and Parkinson’s disease.

TMS works whereby constantly changing frequencies of magnetic fields are used to excite brain cells. In theory, this would make it either easier or harder for brain cells to communicate with each other. In the case of Josh Villa, the magnetic fields were aimed at the brain cells of the right prefrontal dorsolateral cortex where there is a large concentration of connections to the brainstem. This area was targeted because the brainstem is responsible managing other areas of the brain; much like a command centre.

Miraculously, after 15 or so sessions, Villa started to come to. He was even able to form simple single words and obey “one step commands” such as following a pen light with his eyes.

However, treatment using the TMS was stopped after 30 of the planned sessions were completed. Villa was treated another 10 times with the TMS six weeks later but there was no significant improvement in his status. It was however recorded that without the TMS, Villa became very tired and his condition worsened slightly.

Presently, Villa is at home and still being cared for by his mother. She claims that caring for him is much easier due to the TMS sessions he underwent. Villa is also able to interact with visitors.

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Get this…before the advent of the TV and the incessant invasion of our sensory preceptors, most dreams were in colour!

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‘Heaven help my heart’ ‘cause this is a wonderful breakthrough in medicine. Boffins working together from Harvard University and the Children’s Hospital Boston are now able to operate on the heart without stopping it and keeping the body artificially alive. The solution is a robotic contraption which together with a 3D ultrasound system, gathers information on the heart’s shape and movement and predicts its position 70 to 100 milliseconds ahead of time. The robotic surgical tool then slides back and forth accommodating the movement, thus allowing doctors to operate whilst bypassing the high risks associated with such surgeries, namely brain damage. Have a look at the video: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1827871101?bctid=1867274972

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