The Biden Cancer Moonshot: American Progress, Global Commitment.

SUMMARY: The Biden Cancer Moonshot is mobilizing efforts toward achieving two clear goals that President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden set: prevent more than 4 million cancer deaths by 2047 and improve the experience of people who are touched by cancer. To achieve these ambitious but achievable goals, the Biden Cancer Moonshot is driving progress across the cancer journey utilizing all facets of the oncology community - federal agencies, and departments, private companies, healthcare providers, patient groups, and philanthropies - to end cancer as we know it here in the United States and all around the world.

Ultrasonically actuated neural probes for reduced trauma and inflammation in mouse brain.

Electrical neural recordings measured using direct electrical interfaces with neural tissue suffer from a short lifespan because the signal strength decreases over time. The inflammatory response to the inserted microprobe can create insulating tissue over the electrical interfaces, reducing the recorded signal below noise levels. One of the factors contributing to this inflammatory response is the tissue damage caused during probe insertion. Here, we explore the use of ultrasonic actuation of the neural probe during insertion to minimize tissue damage in mice. Silicon neural microprobes were designed and fabricated with integrated electrical recording sites and piezoelectric transducers. The microprobes were actuated at ultrasonic frequencies using integrated piezoelectric transducers. The microprobes were inserted into mouse brains under a glass window over the brain surface to image the tissue surrounding the probe using two-photon microscopy. The mechanical force required to penetrate the tissue was reduced by a factor of 2-3 when the microprobe was driven at ultrasonic frequencies. Tissue histology at the probe insertion site showed a reduced area of damage and decreased microglia counts with increasing ultrasonic actuation of the probes. Two-photon imaging of the microprobe over weeks demonstrated stabilization of the inflammatory response. Recording of electrical signals from neurons over time suggests that microprobes inserted using ultrasound have a higher signal-to-noise ratio over an extended time period.