List of All Articles with Tag 'h'

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Scientists in Israel have created a model of a human embryo from stem cells, without using sperm, eggs or a womb. A team at Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science made the model, which resembles an embryo at day 14, when it acquires internal structures but before it lays down the foundations for body organs, and the work was published in the journal Nature. But the scientists involved said it would take a long time yet to create an embryo from scratch. Team leader Jacob Hanna said the team took stem cells derived from adult human skin cells, as well as others cultured in the lab, then reverted the cells to an early state.They then manipulated them to make a model of an embryo, rather than an actual or synthetic one. "The question is, when does an embryo model become considered an embryo? When that happens, we know the regulations. At the moment we are really, really far off from that point," Hanna said. However, they said the work could open the door to new ways to test the effect of drugs on pregnancies, better understand miscarriages and genetic diseases, and maybe grow transplant tissues and organs. "They are not identical. There are differences from human embryos, but still, this is the first time, if you open an atlas or a textbook, you can say - yeah I can really see the similarity between them," said Hanna. "In about 1 percent of the aggregates we can see that the cells start differentiating correctly, migrating and sorting themselves into the correct structure, and the farthest we could get is day 14 in human embryo development," he said. Their next goal, Hanna said, is to advance to day 21 and also reach a threshold of a 50 per cent success rate. Magdalena Żernicka-Goetz, a professor of development and stem cells at the University of Cambridge, said the study joins six other similar human embryo-like models published from teams around the world this year, including from her lab. "None of these models fully recapitulate natural human development but each adds to ways in which many aspects of human development can now be studied experimentally," she said. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The remains of 2,000-year-old Roman walls have been discovered by archaeologist in Switzerland in the foothills of the Alps. During the excavation of a gravel pit in Cham in the canton, or state, of Aug in central Switzerland, the walls, which once protected a Roman building complex, were found. Other pieces have also been unearthed by archaeologists, include a plaster wall, iron nails, and gold fragments. As well as items such as bowls, millstones for grinding, glassware, and crockery and ceramic jugs known as amphorae. In a statement form the Office for the Preservation of Monuments and Archeology, the findings were labelled an "archaeological sensation" for the region and could shed light on Roman activity in central Switzerland. Gishan Schaeren, head of the Department of Prehistory and Protohistoric Archaeology said in the statement: "Roman buildings of similar dimensions were last excavated in Cham-Heiligkreuz almost 100 years ago. We were also amazed that the top bricks were even visible above ground." The walls extend over an area of at least 5,300 square feet (500 square metres). Although it's unclear how Romans used the site, including whether it was a "villa with a view or a temple building," said professor of archaeology of the Roman provinces at the University of Bern Christa Ebnöther. The team said that findings of Roman tableware known as terra sigillata - which means "sealed earth" in Latin - were found, suggesting elite people were at the site. The amphorae, which typically held liquids such as wine, olive oil and fish sauce, are evidence that Romans in the region traded with those in the Mediterranean. Archaeologists also found several copper and bronze coins, including a silver denarius minted by Julius Caesar from the first century B.C. The discovery of the Roman walls is not the first ancient find in the area. Previously, archaeologists had found remains of a middle Bronze Age settlement, burials from the late Bronze Age, and a number of coins form the era of the Celts. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

KFW, the German development bank, has offered a €200 million ($214 million) loan to South African power utility

YouTube has launched a verification system for UK-based doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals to help Britons dodge medical misinformation online. UK-based users accounted for more than two billion video views of clips on health conditions in 2021. YouTube added a new seal of approval to accounts run by licensed doctors, nurses, psychologists, and other health practitioners or organisations who have passed stringent verification checks to fight misinformation. YouTube head of UK health Dr Vishaal Virani said the move to verified health videos for UK users was crucial due to the number of Brits accessing healthcare information through the video-sharing platform. Dr Virani told the BBC: “Whether we like it or not, whether we want it or not, whether the health industry is pushing for it or not, people are accessing health information online. We all know how difficult it can be to differentiate between healthcare information from trusted and reliable sources and content which is inaccurate or doubtful provenance Professor Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard “We need to do as good a job as possible to bring rigour to the content that they are subsequently consuming when they do start their care journey online.” The verification system began accepting applications from UK-based healthcare professionals to those with an active medical licence in June. Accounts that applied to the verification scheme are now starting to receive their YouTube mark of authenticity on their videos, to make it as easy as possible users to know if the information has come from a qualified healthcare professional. Potential health creators submitting their accounts have to go through a rigorous, multi-stepped verification process that works in partnership with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and the NHS. Health creators also have their past videos scrutinised and do not receive verification if previous videos uploaded to YouTube have contained any medical misinformation. Chairwoman of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges Professor Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard said the partnership with YouTube had resulted in a positive solution for all. Dame Helen said in a statement: “We all know how difficult it can be to differentiate between healthcare information from trusted and reliable sources and content which is inaccurate or doubtful provenance. “I am pleased to say we have been able to draw on our own expertise and that of organisations from across the UK healthcare landscape to produce an easy-to-apply set of principles which will ultimately benefit everyone who turns to YouTube seeking trustworthy health information.” YouTuber and doctor Simi Adedeji has already received her YouTube tick of approval. But Dr Adedeji told the BBC that her videos, which primarily focus on skin health and women’s health, are not to be used in lieu of making an appointment with a medical professional for real-life advice. Dr Adedeji said: “There’s a difference between giving medical education, which is what we’re doing, and giving medical advice, which we don’t do. “It’s about giving medical information so that the audience feels empowered and can then go and see their doctor.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Should you swap your foundation for a lightweight skin tint? What should you do if you think your child is being bullied at school? What women should do if they experience violence online

A robotic dog called Spot was brought into survey two former Cold War weapons testing facilities, which are unsafe for humans to enter due to decaying concrete. The National Trust said bringing the tech to Orford Ness in Suffolk to conduct a first measured survey of the historic structures was “a key part of our commitment to ongoing research at our places”. The remote shingle spit was used as a military test site during both world wars and into the nuclear age, before the Ministry of Defence sold it to the conservation charity in 1993. The robotic dog, with a camera mounted to the top and four hinged legs, is controlled remotely and from a safe distance to explore spaces where it is unsafe for humans to go. It was used, alongside drones, to survey two laboratories known as pagodas or Labs 4 and 5 at Orford Ness. Both are classified as scheduled monuments. They were constructed in 1960 to carry out environmental tests on the atomic bomb, mimicking the rigours to which a weapon might be subjected before detonation, including vibration, extremes of temperature, shocks and G forces. Although no nuclear material was involved, a test failure could still have resulted in a catastrophic explosion. For this reason, the labs were specially designed and constructed with a shingle top which would absorb and dissipate if an explosion occurred. Glen Pearce, operations manager at the National Trust’s Orford Ness, said: “This is a really exciting opportunity for us to see inside labs four and five, the ‘pagodas’. “The buildings have always had a certain mystery about them. “When they were built and in use during the Cold War, they were shrouded in secrecy, and after they were decommissioned, they fell into disrepair. “Nobody has been able to go inside for several years due to safety reasons. “This is the first time the National Trust has employed this kind of technology and it’s a key part of our commitment to ongoing research at our places. “It could change the way we, and our visitors, engage with the structures at Orford Ness as well as other scheduled monuments and buildings deemed unsafe to enter.” No measured surveys have been completed of the buildings before, the conservation charity said. National Trust archaeologist Angus Wainwright said: “Historic England’s research into the buildings made us realise how significant they are, on a national and international scale. “These are some of the few Cold War buildings that are on this monumental scale and visitable by the public. “The buildings used to be quite safe so we could go in and out as much as we liked, but now they are getting more risky as the concrete decays. “That’s why we are doing this survey in this remote way, without anyone going into the buildings. “It’s all very experimental, to see if it’s possible to do a really detailed building survey with no human operator in the building.” The structures are part of the National Trust’s curated decay policy and have been left to nature, with their roofs becoming nesting sites for lesser black-backed gulls, which are on the UK’s amber conservation list. Colin Evison, innovation technical lead at BAM, said it was a “fantastic opportunity to put into action our agile mobile robot Spot”. He said the survey would provide a “comprehensive and valuable record of this historic environment for future generations”. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Period and fertility tracking apps scrutinised over data security concerns Russian cyber-attacks ‘relentless’ as threat of WW3 grows, expert warns Warner Music sign first digital character Noonoouri and release debut single

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Huawei Technologies Co. added a new top-of-the-line model to its controversial Mate 60 smartphone family on Friday, putting