Spinal

Get ready for a sequel that will go up to … 12?! The team behind the brilliant 1984 music mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap has officially begun work on another film. Filmmaker Rob Reiner will once again direct and portray documentarian Marty DiBergi as he checks in with the three members of Spinal Tap — David St. Hubbins (actor Michael McKean), Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) — to see how the past four decades have treated the heavy-metal stereotypes. They have not yet announced who’ll…

The bands that come together organically, without the aid of want ads or tear-off flyers stapled to telephone poles, are generally catalyzed by a mixture of chemistry, inspiration and boredom.A few guys – more often than not, it’s still guys – hang out, realize they get along, bond through their overlapping tastes, and then grow fidgety to do something about it. Screwing around becomes noodling, noodling becomes jamming, jamming becomes something that can be passed off as a performance in exchange for beer money. For so…

Put the word 'evolution' into Google images and the results are largely variations on one theme: Ralph Zallinger's illustration, March of Progress. Running left to right, we see a chimp-like knuckle walker gradually becoming taller and standing erect.Implicit in such images – and the title of the picture – are biases in common views of evolution: that we are some sort of peak, the perfected product of the process. We imagine we are indeed the fittest survivors, the very best we can be.But seen that way, there's a…

A recent study has introduced an innovative nanogel capable of delivering anti-inflammatory drugs directly to glial cells, showing promise in treating spinal cord injuries that lead to paraplegia or quadriplegia.Innovative nanogels developed by researchers have shown effectiveness in targeting glial cells for the treatment of spinal cord injuries, offering a new avenue for therapeutic intervention.In a study published in Advanced Materials, researchers Pietro Veglianese, Valeria Veneruso, and Emilia Petillo from Istituto…

Researchers have developed drug-loaded nanoparticles that selectively target the cells responsible for causing damaging inflammation following a spinal cord injury. Given to mice soon after an injury, the novel therapy reduced inflammation and improved motor function, opening the door to new therapeutic possibilities for people with spinal injuries.Sustaining a spinal cord injury (SCI) is devastating enough, but the subsequent inflammation and the damage it causes to the spinal cord can worsen the clinical outcome. This…

Amir Alavi is leading a groundbreaking project at the University of Pittsburgh to develop “metamaterial” orthopedic implants for spinal treatment, funded by a $557,000 NIH grant. By leveraging generative AI and the unique properties of metamaterials, Alavi aims to create spinal fusion cages that enhance healing and surgical success. This research could transform spinal surgery, offering new solutions for bone injury and disease treatment. Above are examples of bone implants designed with metamaterials. Credit: Amir…

With depression affecting around 1 in 10 of us at some point during our lives, the need for new and improved treatments is a top priority for researchers – and it appears that spinal cord stimulation could be one route for experts to investigate.A team led by researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine devised a pilot clinical trial in which a little black box was placed on the spinal cord of 20 volunteers with depression, with one electrode on the back and one on the right shoulder.The box then…

University of Pittsburgh scientists have developed a spinal cord stimulation technique that restores sensation in amputated limbs and reduces phantom limb pain, offering new hope for improved mobility and quality of life for amputees. Credit: SciTechDaily.com Spinal cord stimulation by University of Pittsburgh researchers effectively reduces phantom limb pain and restores sensation in amputees, marking a significant advance in prosthetic technology. Spinal cord stimulation can elicit sensation in the missing foot and…

Early next year, shooting starts for a sequel to the 1984 cult rock-mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap. It stars the actors who played the perma-delusional UK rockers back then: Michael McKean as hair-tossing frontman David St Hubbins; Christopher Guest as guitarist, Nigel “one louder” Tufnel; Harry Shearer as bassist Derek Smalls (“Hello, Cleveland!”). No drummers of course: they all perished, exploding on drum stools, dying in “freak gardening accidents”, and so on.Spinal Tap II has the same director, Rob Reiner, who also…

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cinematic email for freePaul McCartney and Elton John are among the real-life musicians set to make cameo appearances in the upcoming sequel to rock mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap.Rob Reiner, who directed the 1984 film, revealed several guest stars and teased further details about the sequel during an appearance on Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast.The new film was originally slated to…