Evidence that noninvasive sensory stimulation of 40 Hz gamma frequency brain rhythms can reduce Alzheimer's disease pathology and symptoms, already shown with light and sound by multiple research groups in mice and humans, now extends to tactile stimulation. A new study by MIT scientists shows that Alzheimer's model mice exposed to 40 Hz vibration for an hour a day for several weeks showed improved brain health and motor function compared to untreated controls. The MIT group is not the first to show that gamma frequency tactile stimulation can affect brain activity and improve motor function, but they are the first to show that the stimulation can also reduce levels of the hallmark Alzheimer's protein phosphorylated tau, keep neurons from dying or losing their synapse circuit connections, and reduce neural DNA damage. 'This work demonstrates a third sensory modality that we can use to increase gamma power in the brain,' says Li-Huei Tsai, corresponding author of the study, director of The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and the Aging Brain Initiative at MIT, and Picower Professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences (BCS). 'We are very excited to see that 40 Hz tactile stimulation benefits motor abilities, which has not been shown with the other modalities. It would be interesting to see if tactile stimulation can benefit human subjects with impairment in motor function.'...

What comes to mind when you think of someone who stutters' Is that person male or female' Are they weak and nervous, or powerful and heroic' If you have a choice, would you like to marry them, introduce them to your friends or recommend them for a job' Your attitudes toward people who stutter may depend partly on what you think causes stuttering. If you think that stuttering is due to psychological causes, such as being nervous, research suggests that you are more likely to distance yourself from those who stutter and view them more negatively. I avoided sounds and words that I might stutter on. I avoided ordering the dishes I wanted to eat at the school cafeteria to avoid stuttering. I asked my teacher to not call on me in class because I didn't want to deal with the laughter from my classmates when they heard my stutter. Those experiences motivated me to investigate stuttering so that I can help people who stutter, including myself, to better cope with the condition. The most recognizable characteristics of developmental stuttering are the repetitions, prolongations and blocks in people's speech. People who stutter may also experience muscle tension during speech and exhibit secondary behaviors, such as tics and grimaces....

Private equity firm TPG Capital Asia is close to an agreement to sell a minority stake in Pathology Asia Holdings Pte in a deal that values the health-care business at about $2bn, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Government-backed investors from Asia and the Middle East are among parties interested in taking a stake in Pathology Asia, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. The buyout firm could agree to sell a little less than 30% of the unit to potential investors as soon as the end of this month, one of the people said. TPG was exploring selling the Pathology Asia stake ahead of a potential initial public offering of the unit, Bloomberg News reported last month. The buyout firm asked banks to submit proposals for the potential listing of Pathology Asia in March and was considering Singapore as an option for the listing venue. Pathology Asia's brands include Quest Laboratories and Gribbles Pathology in Southeast Asia. It announced the acquisition of Singapore's Innovative Diagnostics Pte in 2018, and bought a minority stake in Australian drug testing company SafeWork Laboratories Pty the following year....

The company plans to use the money to expand—adding laboratories in Texas, Florida and Arizona—as well as grow its research on skin care diagnostics. PathologyWatch is also working on artificial intelligence technology that could help diagnose patients, once it gains Food and Drug Administration approval. The number of skin samples sent to the startup’s laboratories have quadrupled over the last year, Dan Lambert, CEO and cofounder told Crunchbase News. “As digital dermatopathology continues to grow, it has the potential to reduce the costs of pathology by billions while creating better patient care for everyone across the country,” Lambert said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be winning so much volume so quickly.” PathologyWatch’s platform includes its private laboratories where tests on patient biopsies can be prepared, evaluated by pathologists and scanned with reports on the findings that are accessible online at all times. The result is a more “democratized” health care operation that can make it easier to collaborate with other pathologists, and improve turnaround times and access to care, company leaders and investors say....