The decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), HydraDAO, has purportedly achieved a significant breakthrough in its latest research. The DAO claims that its experts have developed a unique method that can mend fully cut spinal cords in rats, allowing them to walk again.
In a post on May 5, HydraDAO, a decentralized scientific (DeSci) project, disclosed that its research had enabled rats with completely severed spines to regain their mobility. Astonishingly, recovery from the surgical procedure reportedly took a mere five days. The DAO released a video showing the rats, partially shaven due to the surgery, walking around what appears to be a lab environment.
The research project dubbed the Dowell spinal fusogens, led by Michael Lebenstein-Gumovski, successfully raised 380,700 USDC from donors. HydraDAO’s official page states that the Dowell team proposed the project to HydraDAO and, after careful examination and two peer evaluations, HydraCore found it beneficial to the HydraDAO community.
The Dowell team has been researching fusogens, chemicals known for their ability to connect severed nerve fibers. The team has developed a compound called neuro-PEG, a combination of a biopolymer from crustacean shells known as chitosan and polyethylene glycol (PEG). This compound solidifies quickly when exposed to light, making it an ideal scaffold for more permanent spinal cord welding.
In addition to this, the Dowell team employs neuroprotection techniques such as localized hypothermia and cellular death inhibitors to prevent further damage to nerve tissue. A scientific paper published by Gumovski in 2023 in Surgical Neurology International revealed that pigs treated with neuro-PEG regained their mobility in two months.
Although the evidence provided by HydraDAO is encouraging, it is crucial to remain cautious until multiple independent teams can replicate the results. HydraDAO has pledged to conduct additional experiments to validate the research results. However, further investigations are necessary to determine whether this technique can be applied to real-world spinal injuries.
