Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Wim Meijer @wimgmeijer.bsky.social · 4d

I don’t tango but love gaming.. both are good for the brain 😊

Engaging in a creative pastime can slow brain ageing, according to a study of dancers, musicians, artists and video game players from multiple countries.

🧪

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Creative hobbies could slow brain ageing at the molecular level

To keep the mind young, dance the tango.

www.nature.com

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Wim Meijer @wimgmeijer.bsky.social · 4d

Scientists have converted the blood type of a donor kidney and transplanted the organ into a person.

The procedure — the first of its kind — could improve access to donor organs, specialists say, because the blood type of the donor would no longer matter.

🧪

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

First human transplant of kidney modified to have ‘universal’ blood type

Recipient diagnosed with brain death received a type-O organ, which is compatible with all blood types.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Wim Meijer

Antimicrobial resistance #AMR @antimicrobial.bsky.social · 8d

Horizon Europe has launched a €253M AMR partnership to accelerate innovation and move potential therapies closer to market. The first funding call, focused on treatments, will open in November following a pre-announcement in mid-October.
sciencebusiness.net/news/r-d-fun...

Horizon Europe’s new antimicrobial resistance partnership looks to the market

Horizon Europe’s partnership for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) research launched last week with a plan to bring Europe closer to finding new anti-microbial therapies in the next decade. With more of ...

sciencebusiness.net

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Wim Meijer @wimgmeijer.bsky.social · 12d

Ever heard of SNPs?

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Wim Meijer @wimgmeijer.bsky.social · 13d

Whole genome sequencing to be admitted as evidence in US criminal trials..

“Cold-case units all over the country are going back through their evidence lockers to see if there are samples that can now be tested with a reasonable chance of success.”

🧪

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

US serial killer case opens door to using cutting-edge DNA data in courts

New York trial could set a legal precedent by admitting findings from whole-genome sequencing as evidence.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Wim Meijer

MarinDE @marinde.bsky.social · 13d

A new paper appearing in Cell Stem Cell describes organoids that can replicate some of the functions of kidneys in mice. The lead investigator of the study predicts that there could be a transplantable kidney available for animal testing within 5 years.🧪

www.science.org/content/arti...

Scientists make most authentic kidney replicas so far

Lab-grown organoids reproduce some of a kidney’s internal structure and function

www.science.org

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Wim Meijer @wimgmeijer.bsky.social · 19d

Just got my Covid-19 and influenza vaccines 😊

As recommended by the Irish government.. we do like evidence based medicine here…

🧪🦠

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Wim Meijer @wimgmeijer.bsky.social · 19d

Curious to hear if the pope agrees with this..

Reposted by Wim Meijer

Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 20d

Where the separate divisions of ANTIFA landed on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944:

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Wim Meijer @wimgmeijer.bsky.social · 20d

Land of the-not-so-free…

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Wim Meijer @wimgmeijer.bsky.social · 21d

Mirror life consists of synthetic cells built from molecules that are mirror images of those found in the natural world.

Many scientists have voiced concerns that they would pose an enormous risk to human health and the environment.

🧪🦠

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

How should ‘mirror life’ research be restricted? Debate heats up

Some researchers are calling for strict limits, while others speak out against halting basic science prematurely.

www.nature.com

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Wim Meijer @wimgmeijer.bsky.social · 21d

Material deep inside Earth, near the planet’s core, has undergone a mysterious shift

The discovery, possible because the geological shift altered the planet’s gravitational field, is a testament to Earth-orbiting GRACE satellites.

Planetary science rocks!

🧪

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Mysterious changes near Earth’s core revealed by satellites in space

Orbiters can pick up gravitational shifts thousands of kilometres below the surface.

www.nature.com

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Wim Meijer @wimgmeijer.bsky.social · 21d

Outbreaks of dengue are killing thousands in South America each year and is getting worse.

Brazil hopes to turn the tide with a vaccine and an army of mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria.

These lower the odds mosquitoes can transmit the virus to humans.

🧪🦠

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

How billions of hacked mosquitoes and a vaccine could beat the deadly dengue virus

Outbreaks of dengue are killing thousands of people in South America each year and getting worse. Brazil hopes to turn the tide with a home-grown vaccine and an army of mosquitoes infected with Wolbac...

www.nature.com

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Wim Meijer @wimgmeijer.bsky.social · 25d

What do mosquitoes like?

People who recently drank beer were 44 percent more attractive to mosquitoes than people who abstained..

Mosquitoes also liked people who used cannabis and people who had slept near another person the previous night…

🧪

www.sciencenews.org/article/avoi...

Want to avoid mosquito bites? Step away from the beer

A Dutch music festival turned into a mosquito lab, revealing how beer, weed, sleep and sunscreen affect your bite appeal.

www.sciencenews.org

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Reposted by Wim Meijer

Wim Meijer @wimgmeijer.bsky.social · Aug 31

US infants, children and teens are almost twice as likely to die before reaching adulthood compared to those in peer countries.

Gun violence has been the leading cause of death for US children. Firearm death rates among US kids have more than doubled since 2013.

🧪

stateline.org/2025/08/28/a...

American kids are less likely to reach adulthood than foreign peers • Stateline

American kids are less likely to reach adulthood compared with foreign peers

stateline.org

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Reposted by Wim Meijer

Darren Dahly @statsepi.bsky.social · 29d

Best wishes to @wimgmeijer.bsky.social, @eu-wish.bsky.social and everyone else involved in hosting this genuinely important event. Waste water surveillance is an efficient, scalable surveillance method useful for a wide range of important targets.

EU-WISH @eu-wish.bsky.social · Sep 8

In Dublin, we will focus on:

* Day 1: Setting priorities, pathogens and approaches.
* Day 2: Integrating targets into real public health action.

With shared knowledge and collaboration, we are ready to make the right call.

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Reposted by Wim Meijer

José Benito (Tito) Quintana @jbquint.bsky.social · 29d

Here we are in #Dublin at @ucddublin.bsky.social for the @eu-wish.bsky.social meeting this week representing @arcus-usc.bsky.social and @usc.gal

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Reposted by Wim Meijer

EU-WISH @eu-wish.bsky.social · Sep 8

Choosing the right approach isn’t easy: rely on clinical cases only, or complement with wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) data?

That’s why EU-WISH brings experts together, to strengthen wastewater surveillance for better public health decisions.

#episky #IDsky 🧪

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Reposted by Wim Meijer

Wim Meijer @wimgmeijer.bsky.social · Sep 7

Researchers implanted CRISPR-edited pancreas cells into a person with type-1 diabetes.

The cells produced insulin for months

There was no need for immune-dampening drugs, due to gene edits that allowed the cells to evade detection by the recipient’s immune system.

🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Hope for diabetes: CRISPR-edited cells pump out insulin in a person – and evade immune detection

Edits create cells that don’t trigger an immune response, allowing implant recipient to forego immune-suppressing drugs.

www.nature.com

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Wim Meijer @wimgmeijer.bsky.social · Sep 7

Meanwhile in the EU:

ECDC is a public health agency of the EU protecting over 500 million people from infectious diseases

It assesses risks posed by over 50 infectious diseases and provides guidance to prevent and respond to outbreaks and public health threats

🧪🦠

www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/about-ecdc

About ECDC

ECDC is an EU agency established in 2005 with the aim to strengthen Europe's defences against infectious diseases. It is seated in Solna, Sweden.

www.ecdc.europa.eu

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Reposted by Wim Meijer

Darren Dahly @statsepi.bsky.social · Sep 6

Except he didn't use "AI"...he used math, computer science, and surveillance data. Very cool by the way, but it's beyond ridiculous how everything useful is suddenly AI. No wonder the average person is so bewildered. Even a author from CIT can't convey this honestly.

phys.org/news/2025-04...

High school student uses AI to reveal 1.5 million previously unknown objects in space

Through his research at Caltech, a local high school student revealed 1.5 million previously unknown objects in space, broadened the potential of a NASA mission, and published a single-author paper.

phys.org

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Wim Meijer @wimgmeijer.bsky.social · Sep 7

The CRISPR horses join a menagerie of gene-edited animals that have wide-ranging applications — mostly with the goal of improving agriculture.

These include resistance to disease, adaptation to higher temperatures and increased meat and milk production..

🧪

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

First CRISPR horses spark controversy: what’s next for gene-edited animals?

Horses with genomic edits to make them run faster have been banned from polo, but a zoo of CRISPR-edited animals is gaining acceptance in agriculture.

www.nature.com

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Wim Meijer @wimgmeijer.bsky.social · Sep 7

Researchers implanted CRISPR-edited pancreas cells into a person with type-1 diabetes.

The cells produced insulin for months

There was no need for immune-dampening drugs, due to gene edits that allowed the cells to evade detection by the recipient’s immune system.

🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Hope for diabetes: CRISPR-edited cells pump out insulin in a person – and evade immune detection

Edits create cells that don’t trigger an immune response, allowing implant recipient to forego immune-suppressing drugs.

www.nature.com

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Wim Meijer @wimgmeijer.bsky.social · Sep 3

How long before Americans will need to go to Europe/Asia to get life saving vaccines/treatment?

Thoughts, prayers and assorted snake oil remedies (wellness) don’t avert/cure infectious diseases or cancer…

Check out public health policies in the Middle Ages if you’re unsure about this..

🧪

Matthew J Kuiper @matthewjkuiper.bsky.social · Sep 2

Apparently we’re now making rabies great again.

Having lived for a decade where contracting rabies was an actual daily concern, I can tell you it’s a terrifying disease from which, once symptomatic, there is no cure.

Seeing lots of screenshots, so tracked down the actual story link:

'They would never have known:' New warnings about rabies outbreaks as cases rise in the U.S.

The CDC's rabies team says it's tracking 15 different likely outbreaks from New York to Oregon.

www.nbcnews.com

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Wim Meijer @wimgmeijer.bsky.social · Sep 3

I’m sure they are all ‘very concerned’…

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