Scientific field: a new use for a mask and a vaccine against allergies to cats

Russian scientists have created a crewless boat to support underwater robots, a biochip for diagnosing lung pathologies, and obtained new data on the functioning of the human brain that will help treat dyslexia and speech disorders. Human trials of the cat allergy vaccine will also begin soon in Russia. Elon Musk said that 10 Starship spacecraft could provide terawatts of electricity. This capacity is comparable to all the electricity that is generated in the United States today. Read about this in the rating of science news of the week compiled by Izvestia.

Unmanned boat to support underwater robots

The Bauman Moscow State Technical University has created a crewless surface boat designed to escort underwater robots. The device can be used as a base station and repeater, as well as work as an independent research complex for studying water areas.

Photo: Bauman Moscow State Technical University Press Service

— Our development is mainly a constructive platform. It is the surface part of a robotic complex, the second component of which is immersed in the aquatic environment. Depending on the tasks assigned, the equipment can be adapted to perform research, search, engineering, and others. Users can choose different modes, including remote control of the complex or automatic boat tracking of an autonomous underwater device," Danil Shakuev, one of the developers, a design engineer at the Gidronavtika Educational and Scientific Youth Center at Bauman Moscow State Technical University, told Izvestia.

According to him, the boat is designed in the form of a catamaran using composite materials. It is designed to withstand small waves, wind, and other factors that may affect its operation.

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Biochip for diagnosis of pulmonary pathologies

Specialists from the Department of Hospital Therapy at the Institute of Motherhood and Childhood of Pirogov University, together with colleagues from the Chemical Faculty of Moscow State University, have created a biochip that allows measuring extremely low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide in a patient's exhalation. This substance serves as a marker of oxidative stress, which develops in various pulmonary pathologies.

Photo: TASS/EPA/STEPHANIE LECOCQ

The development can be used to detect pneumonia, covoid syndrome, lung cancer and many other diseases. Additional data that can be obtained using the device will allow doctors to prescribe personalized treatment to patients, such as hydrogen therapy. According to experts, the development will be in demand by practicing physicians, as the underlying technology makes it possible to evaluate the most important processes occurring in the body at the cellular level.

— Hydrogen peroxide is one of the markers of oxidative stress and allows you to determine the state of reactive oxygen species and antioxidant protection. Oxidative stress occurs in diseases such as pneumonia, exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary embolism, kidney syndrome, lung cancer, and other pathologies. The chip allows you to build a different treatment algorithm. That is, to assign funds that actively influence the process," said Alexander Chuchalin, head of the department.

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Cat Allergy Vaccine

A team from Sechenov University, together with the Medical University of Vienna, is developing a vaccine against cat allergies.

"Based on the results of the study, scientists have selected two of the most promising vaccine design options. The development is currently in preparation for clinical trials in humans," the university's press service said.

Photo: Getty Images/eyesfoto

According to the university, preclinical testing of immunogenicity and efficacy was conducted on rabbits. According to the results of the experiment, it turned out that the vaccine causes the production of antibodies that blocked up to 85% of the IgE-mediated allergic reaction to feline allergens, while other existing drugs showed a significantly weaker effect. In addition, it took only two injections of the new vaccine to achieve the result, instead of 6-15 for existing drugs.

According to the university, the developed recombinant vaccine against cat allergies is devoid of the disadvantages of extract vaccines, for which allergens are isolated directly from the animal's fur.

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New data on brain function for the treatment of dyslexia

Scientists from Skoltech and the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology (IVND) The Russian Academy of Sciences experimentally studied the operation of a rapid semantic speech processing system. Their study showed that reading comprehension occurs after 150 milliseconds, although previously it was believed that this happens several times slower. The discovery will clarify the fundamental principles of the brain, as well as offer new treatments for dyslexia and other speech disorders caused, for example, by stroke.

Photo: TASS/Artem Korotaev

— We have found several brain regions that are responsible for rapid semantic processing. Such a system has been discussed before, but this is the first time we have studied it using real texts using magnetic encephalography. Usually, such studies show the perception of individual words, but we used real texts of fairy tales. We took them from different cultures, because depending on them, the text can be organized in different ways," said Gurgen Soghoyan, a researcher at the Skoltech Neurocenter and the Institute of Internal Medicine of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

At the next stage, the experts plan to study how the rapid semantic speech processing system works in people with dyslexia.

Musk proposed the idea of a new Starship application

American billionaire and head of a number of technology companies, Elon Musk, wrote on his page on the social network X that 10 Starship spacecraft could provide terawatts of electricity. This capacity is comparable to all the electricity that is generated in the United States today.

Photo: TASS/AP/Eric Gay

The entrepreneur admitted that he was thinking about the fastest way to get terawatts of energy for his data centers when he came up with the idea to use Starship as space solar power plants. They will collect solar energy in orbit, and then transmit it to Earth in the form of microwave radiation, where it will be converted into electricity.