Get ready to experience stories of scientific innovation and medical marvels in the new IMAX documentary, "Superhuman Body," sponsored locally by FSU Health.

I celebration, let take a look at local breakthroughs being made right here in Tallahassee. Across the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, FSU College of Medicine, and National MagLab, researchers are making discoveries and inventing new technology every day. So, what kind of superpowers are sitting right in our backyard?

Improving Alzheimer's Protein Analysis

Professor Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering’s Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering has been leading the charge on a study showing that incorporating a high-magnitude magnetic field improves the measurement accuracy of amyloid beta proteins, which are linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Using a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, the team of researchers was able to analyze amyloid beta proteins mixed with lipids, simulating an actual mix of cells found in the brain. According to the National Alzheimer's Association, an estimated 7.4 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's in 2026. This research could help scientists design compounds that block the toxic protein interactions driving Alzheimer’s disease, creating more effective treatments.

Remapping the Blueprints of DNA Repair

In the FSU College of Medicine, a team of researchers took a new approach to the DNA repair process, a key part of cancer development and prevention. While polymerase beta, one of the main parts in the repair process, has been thought to form multiple temporary bonds with DNA, Dr. Zucai Suo discovered that it actually forms a chemical bond with DNA and continues to cut and repair it while crosslinked to the strand. Combining these findings together with X-ray crystallography snapshots, the Suo lab was able to make new observations about the way DNA is repaired in the human body. This work gives researchers a better view of DNA damage and repair, allowing future researchers to explore how it occurs in the body and how it may be used to prevent or treat cancer.

Sky Therapeutics ADHD Treatment Breakthrough Device Designation

There's more to scientific innovation than microscopic cells and DNA, though. In fact, a Florida State University research team recently received the Breakthrough Device designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a digital ADHD treatment. Licensed by the start-up Sky Therapeutics, the new treatment named Cenextra was developed at FSU using a patented series of mental exercises to strengthen executive functioning in children with ADHD. The new treatment, presented as popular arcade-style video games, was evaluated in two controlled clinical trials at the FSU Children’s Learning Clinic. Cenextra was developed as an accessible, non-medication option to help kids with ADHD thrive, and it continues to go through additional testing and trials in Tallahassee in order to one day be available to families nationwide. This breakthrough thinking and innovation is what makes FSU and FAMU's research stand out next to IMAX's "Superhuman Body."

Superhuman Body

These are just a few of the ongoing research projects going on right here in Tallahassee to advance medical innovation and technology. Learn more about innovations nationwide in IMAX's "Superhuman Body," sponsored by FSU Health.

Advancing Medical Research and Tech at FSU and FAMU