Your phone is judging your hydration levels (and embryos are getting report cards)

Remember when we used to think paralysis was forever? Well, science just entered its "hold my beer" era (again). This week, we're diving into face tattoos that read your mind (for medical reasons, we swear), embryos getting SAT scores before they're even born, smartphones that shame you into hydration, and, oh yeah, the first-ever attempt to literally reverse spinal cord injuries.

Hold onto your neurons, friends! We might be witnessing the beginning of the end for "irreversible" spinal cord injuries. XellSmart just got FDA approval for the world's first allogeneic iPSC cell therapy trial targeting spinal cord injury, and while we're trying not to get ahead of ourselves (we're totally getting ahead of ourselves), this is genuinely groundbreaking.

Spinal cord injury affects over 15 million people globally, including 3 million in China and 300,000 in the US. Currently, if you damage your spinal cord, that's it – game over. Most patients experience permanent disability, with current treatments largely limited to rehabilitation and supportive care. The lifetime cost per patient can even exceed $1 million, not to mention the immeasurable personal toll.

XellSmart's approach uses induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to create neural progenitor cells that could potentially regenerate damaged spinal tissue. What makes this special is that it's "off-the-shelf" – no need to harvest cells from each patient. The trial will be led by the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, a nationally recognized leader in spinal cord injury treatment.

Before we pop the champagne, this is Phase 1, which primarily tests safety and dosing. If successful (fingers, toes, and neural pathways crossed), it moves to Phase 2 with more participants. Realistically, if everything goes perfectly, we're looking at 5-7 years before this could be widely available. But for a condition that's been untreatable since... forever? That's lightning speed. You can read more HERE.

Worth noting: XellSmart isn't a one-trick pony – they've got seven approved trials running for various CNS diseases, including Parkinson's and ALS, with some showing promising early results.

As someone who treats water like an optional life DLC, I've ignored every hydration app and smart bottle on the market. But researchers at KAUST just made dehydration detection unavoidable – by turning your phone's touchscreen into a hydration sensor.

The system measures changes in your skin's capacitance – its ability to store electrical charge – which drops when you're dehydrated. Every time you tap, swipe, or doom-scroll, the screen's existing capacitive sensors can detect these tiny electrical variations in your fingertips. No extra hardware, no charging another gadget. The team tested it on over 4,000 readings from athletes and people fasting during Ramadan. The system could correctly tell if someone was dehydrated with impressive accuracy—up to 92% for athletes and 87% for those fasting. They used machine learning to translate those subtle skin signals into hydration levels, classified into five different stages.

Imagine your phone refusing to open TikTok until you drink water, or Instagram stories interrupted by hydration reminders based on actual biometric data, not just timers. For chronically dehydrated folks (guilty), this could be the passive-aggressive push we need. Though knowing tech companies, they might just use it to serve personalized beverage ads.

The beauty is its simplicity: Using hardware that's already touching your fingers hundreds of times a day. Finally, a health tracker that doesn't require remembering to wear, charge, or sync anything.

Read the paper HERE

Nucleus Genomics just launched something that sounds straight out of a sci-fi novel – embryo screening that goes way beyond checking for genetic diseases. Their new platform claims to assess over 900 conditions, and here's where it gets controversial: they're also offering probability assessments for traits like IQ and height.

The technology uses polygenic risk scores to evaluate embryos created through IVF, essentially giving each one a detailed genetic forecast. Beyond screening for serious conditions like heart disease or diabetes risk, parents could theoretically select embryos based on predicted intelligence or whether their kid might reach NBA heights. The company frames it as "empowering parents with information," but critics are calling it a slippery slope to designer babies.

The bioethics community is having a field day with this one. Some argue it's just an extension of current genetic screening practices, while others see it as opening Pandora's box of genetic discrimination and unrealistic parental expectations. There's also the uncomfortable question of accuracy. Polygenic scores for complex traits like intelligence are notoriously unreliable and influenced by countless environmental factors.

What's particularly eyebrow-raising is the timing. As we're still grappling with basic questions about genetic privacy and discrimination, here comes a tool that could fundamentally change how we think about human variation. The technology exists, but should we use it? And more importantly, who gets to decide what traits are "desirable"? For now, it's limited to IVF patients who can afford the premium service, but it's hard not to wonder where this road leads.

Dive deeper here and here

Remember those bulky EEG caps with wires everywhere and gel that takes forever to set up? Researchers have developed ultra-thin electronic tattoos that could replace them entirely. These skin-conforming devices are thinner than a human hair and stick directly to your face - no wires, no gel, no hour-long setup.

The ‘e-tattoos’ consist of a disposable electrode layer and a reusable, flexible circuit layer. Once applied, they can monitor brain activity just as effectively as traditional EEG systems, but with far better comfort and mobility. Initial tests showed they maintained stable readings for hours, even during physical movement. This breakthrough could revolutionize neurological monitoring. Sleep studies where patients can actually sleep naturally? Athletes getting real-time brain data during performance? Continuous monitoring for epilepsy patients without the stigma and discomfort? All suddenly possible. The researchers even demonstrated successful recordings during various facial expressions and head movements - something that typically causes major interference with traditional systems.

While we're not quite at the "stick it on and forget it" phase yet, this represents a massive leap toward making brain monitoring as simple as applying a Band-Aid. And yes, they're working on making them completely invisible, too.

In a move that has public health experts reaching for their stress balls, Health Secretary RFK Jr. just fired the entire CDC vaccine advisory committee – all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) who've been guiding U.S. vaccine policy for over 60 years. These aren't random bureaucrats; they're pediatricians, epidemiologists, and immunologists whose recommendations determine which vaccines get covered by insurance and protect millions of children. The committee was scheduled to meet June 25-27 to discuss vaccinations for Covid-19, RSV, influenza, HPV, and meningococcal disease – now they have two weeks to find 17 new experts.

The medical community is sounding alarms. Dr. Jonathan Temte, former ACIP chair, warned, "We are heading in the direction of U.S. vaccine policy becoming the laughing stock of the globe". Even Sen. Bill Cassidy, who supported Kennedy's confirmation, admitted "the fear is that the ACIP will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion". This isn't just bureaucratic reshuffling – it's removing decades of scientific expertise right as measles outbreaks surge and parents need trusted guidance more than ever. Sometimes progress means moving forward. Sometimes it means desperately trying not to slide backward.

You can get more information from here and here

Another week, another collection of "wait, they can do THAT now?" moments. From electronic face tattoos to embryo report cards, we're living in times where yesterday's sci-fi is today's clinical trial. The spinal cord therapy especially has us cautiously optimistic – imagine a world where "permanent" paralysis comes with an asterisk.

What blew your mind this week? Did the hydration sensor make you immediately reach for water? Are you as conflicted as we are about the embryo screening? Hit reply and let us know – we love hearing your takes on these wild developments!

And hey, if you know someone who needs their weekly dose of "science is bonkers" content, share this along. We're over 2,000 strong, and that +55% open rate still makes us giddy. You folks are the best!

Until next week, stay hydrated (your phone is watching 👀), Prateek & Jere

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