Charlotte Hornets Will Wear Jordan Jerseys Next Season http://trib.al/npTGvrP 

In an incredibly interesting development, an "artificial womb" has successfully grown sheep from 105-120 days in pregnancy (roughly the equivalent of 22-24 weeks in a human) to full term. The womb consists of a sealed transparent bag, inside which an electrolyte fluid flows, keeps the developing lungs supported, and removes waste (much like amniotic fluid does) and an umbilical blood system which provides nutrients, oxygenates blood, and so on. As you can imagine, this was tremendously difficult to develop -- e.g., the umbilical system can't have its own pump, since that would damage the developing heart, and instead fluids must flow easily enough that the fetus' own heartbeat is enough to keep its circulation going.

What's amazing is that this seems to be working. Eight lambs have been born through the system, and researchers are monitoring them closely to see how they develop.

This isn't a complete uterine replicator; the environment in early development is even more complex than it is in late development, and there's no suggestion that you could start from an embryo or a zygote here. What this could have an effect on is extreme prematurity -- infants delivered at or before the 28th week, who currently have a fairly poor prognosis, both for survival and later quality of life. The further effects that such technologies could have in the future are, of course, even more profound. (And have been discussed at length in the science fictional literature, with Bujold being probably its most famous explorer)

Current estimates suggest that this could be 3-5 years away from the first human tests. Those are likely to be difficult, of course, since human development is more complex than sheep development, especially as regards the brain; however, if applied to extremely premature fetuses, it could be a reasonable experimental treatment as the alternative is even worse.

via +David Fuchs

New Genetic Variant Associated With Extreme Old Age Discovered

The search for the genetic determinants of extreme longevity has been challenging, with the prevalence of centenarians (people older than 100) just one per 5,000 population in developed nations.

The research is in Journals of Gerontology: Biological Sciences. (full access paywall)

Skin Stem Cells Used to Generate New Brain Cells

UCI-led study to advance understanding of the role of microglia in Alzheimer’s disease.

The research is in Neuron. (full open access)

rainbow morning

#hqspflowers +HQSP Flowers​
#btpflowerpro +BTP Flower Pro​
+//flower colors//​

Tiny

Pygmy marmoset in Artis Amsterdam.

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/anja-wessels

CAMERA: Canon EOS 650D
LENS Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro
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#photography #photo #WholeWildlifeWeek #wildlifewednesday #wildlifephotography #wildlifephoto #wholewildlifeweek #wildlife #wildlifeinthecity +BTP Animal Pro #zoo #marmoset #pygmymarmoset #Artis 

The Eyes Of Imagination -- Fort Collins, Colorado
"The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity. And some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself."
-- William Blake

An upshot into the branches of a large tree near my house in Fort Collins, Colorado, taken in October a few years ago...

For #TreeTuesday ( +Tree Tuesday ) Curated by +Christina Lawrie , +Allan Cabrera , +Ralph Mendoza , +Kim Troutman and +David R Robinson... 

"Uttakleiv Rush"
By +Patrick Marson Ong www.patrickmarsonong.com Do you love photographing waves? I do! A morning rush capturing the wave’s motion along the shores of Uttakleiv, Vestvagöy Lofoten. It was my first time going around Lofoten and must say that this is one of many picturesque location the Island can offer. So if you fancy a visit, make sure to include this in your itinerary.
I just recently created an article on the filter brand I used on this trip. I had a great time testing NiSi Filters. Truly an awesome product. If you want to know about it, here’s the direct link to my website’s blog page - https://goo.gl/Anvm45 - Patrick Marson Ong

#photography #landscape #norway #beach

Hyacint