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There’s enough gold in Earth’s core to coat the planet! If the gold inside the Earth’s core could be brought to the surface, there would be enough to cover the entire planet in a 1.5-foot layer.

Health Science

Lab Stem Cell Breakthrough

Researchers at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) in Australia have made a significant breakthrough in bone marrow transplants by developing a new method to convert personalized stem cells into hematopoietic stem cells, which are crucial for treating various blood and bone marrow diseases like leukemia.

Currently, bone marrow transplants are the main treatment for these diseases, but they carry serious risks, including graft-versus-host disease, where donor cells attack the recipient's body. To address this issue, the MCRI team reprogrammed cells obtained from hair, skin, and nails into pluripotent stem cells, which can transform into any cell type. While creating pluripotent stem cells has been successful for over a decade, converting them into hematopoietic stem cells has proven difficult.

The researchers believe that standardizing this conversion process could greatly improve transplant outcomes, especially for children with leukemia. Lead author Elizabeth Ng emphasized the potential of generating patient-specific blood stem cells, which could reduce complications from donor mismatches. The team successfully transformed pluripotent stem cells into hematopoietic stem cells and tested them in immune-deficient mice after freezing, showing results comparable to standard transplants using umbilical cord blood. MCRI Professor Ed Stanley noted that refining these techniques could lead to personalized treatments for various blood disorders, addressing donor shortages and issues with mismatched transplants. Dr. Andrew Elefanty, another researcher, mentioned that these patient-specific stem cells could also be used for genome editing to correct genetic defects.

The study highlighted the case of an 11-year-old girl named Riya, who endured a long recovery after receiving a bone marrow transplant from her mother. This research aims to improve outcomes for patients like her, showcasing the promising future of personalized medicine in treating blood diseases.

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You Are Using This Wrong…

Do you have one of these pull through knife sharpeners in your house? Just a few days ago I was trying to use one of these to sharpen up some dull kitchen knives.

Now, my knife was very dull, so it did sharpen it somewhat. But after watching these videos I understand why these knife sharpeners are not really helping sharpen them.

Here is the first short video showing what theses sharpeners are actually doing to your knives. The second video, posted below is a follow up video on the same topic, but with some of the most impressive close-up filming I have ever seen. It shows exactly what is happening in amazing detail. They are both well worth the watch even if you don’t have one of these sharpeners.

Culture

Using Fingers Can Boost Kids' Math Skills by 40%

Some educators view finger counting as a sign of mathematical struggle in children, while others see it as evidence of advanced numerical understanding. New research indicates that teaching finger counting can significantly enhance children's arithmetic skills.

Swiss and French researchers explored whether finger counting could aid primary school children with math problems. Adults often avoid using fingers for basic calculations, associating this behavior with cognitive issues. However, children under eight who use finger counting demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of quantities, recognizing that they can be represented in various ways.
The study, published in the journal Child Development, involved 328 kindergarteners aged five to six in France, assessed on simple addition tasks. Participants were recruited through their teachers for an experiment comprising a pre-test, two weeks of training, a post-test, and a delayed post-test. Results showed a marked improvement in trained children who initially did not use finger counting, with correct responses rising from 37% to 77%. In contrast, non-finger users in the control group showed no significant gains.

Dr. Catherine Thevenot, the study's lead researcher, emphasized the importance of these findings, stating, “Finger calculation training is effective for over 75% of kindergartners. The next step is to support the remaining 25% who didn’t respond as well to the intervention.”

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Mind Stretchers

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