Medical Technology
A solution to antibiotic-resistant bacteria
March 28, 2013 8:35 am | News | CommentsThrough the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, several types of bacteria have become resistant to drugs that were designed to kill them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that some of these "superbugs" are linked to tens of thousands of deaths in the United States annually, including 14,000 for C. difficile and 19,000 for MRSA. Technology developed by Purdue University researchers and commercialized through a Purdue Research Park-based firm could be effective against the increased number of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria in the world.
Scientists find new gene markers for cancer risk
March 27, 2013 2:37 pm | by Malcolm Ritter, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsA huge international effort involving more than 100 institutions and genetic tests on 200,000 people has uncovered dozens of signposts in DNA that can help reveal further a person's risk for breast, ovarian or prostate cancer, scientists reported Wednesday. The potential payoff for ordinary people is mostly this: Someday there may be genetic tests that help identify women with the most to gain from mammograms, and men who could benefit most from PSA tests and prostate biopsies.
Nanotechnology research study turns brain tumors blue
March 27, 2013 11:46 am | News | CommentsResearchers from Georgia Tech and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta have developed a technique that assists in identifying tumors from normal brain tissue during surgery by staining tumor cells blue. The technique could be critically important for hospitals lacking sophisticated equipment in preserving the maximum amount of normal tissue and brain function during surgery.
Wyss Institute lands contract to advance “spleen-on-a-chip”
March 26, 2013 12:41 pm | News | CommentsThe Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University has been awarded a $9.25 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to further advance a blood-cleansing technology developed at the institute. The device uses magnetic nanobeads coated with genetically engineered proteins to cleanse pathogens from the bloodstream, and may one day be used in hospitals or the battlefield.
Counting white blood cells at home
March 26, 2013 9:59 am | News | CommentsCurrently, most white blood cell counts are performed with large-scale equipment in central clinical laboratories. If a physician collects blood samples from a patient in the office, it can take days to get the results. But now engineers at the California Institute of Technology, working with LeukoDx, have developed a portable device to count white blood cells that needs less than a pinprick's worth of blood and takes just minutes to run.
Heart repair breakthroughs replace surgeon's knife
March 24, 2013 4:27 pm | by Marilynn Marchione, AP Chief Medical Writer | News | CommentsHeart care is in the midst of a transformation. Many problems that once required sawing through the breastbone and opening up the chest for open heart surgery now can be treated with a nip, twist, or patch through a tube. These minimal procedures used to be done just to unclog arteries and correct less common heart rhythm problems. Now some patients are getting such repairs for valves, irregular heartbeats, holes in the heart and other defects—without major surgery.
Researchers discover third type of motor found in nature
March 20, 2013 3:21 pm | News | CommentsScientists have cracked a 35-year-old mystery about the workings of a revolving molecular motor that is now serving as a model for development of a futuristic genre of synthetic nanomotors that pump therapeutic DNA, RNA, or drugs into individual diseased cells. Their report reveals the mechanisms of these nanomotors in a bacteria-killing virus—and a new way to move DNA through cells
Wireless, implanted sensor broadens range of brain research
March 19, 2013 3:31 pm | News | CommentsA compact, self-contained sensor recorded and transmitted brain activity data wirelessly for more than a year in early stage animal tests, according to a recent study funded by the National Institutes of Health. In addition to allowing for more natural studies of brain activity in moving subjects, this implantable device represents a potential major step toward cord-free control of advanced prosthetics that move with the power of thought
Wyss Institute, Sony DADC collaborate on Organs-on-Chips
March 19, 2013 8:01 am | News | CommentsThis week, the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and Sony DADC announced a collaboration that will harness Sony DADC's global manufacturing expertise to further advance the Institute's Organs-on-Chips technologies. Human Organs-on-Chips are research tools composed of a clear, flexible polymer about the size of a computer memory stick, and contain hollow microfluidic channels lined by living human cells
New research paper says we are still at risk of the plague
March 18, 2013 8:57 am | News | CommentsArchaeologists recently unearthed a “Black Death” grave in London, containing more than a dozen skeletons of people suspected to have died from the plague. The victims are thought to have died during the 14th century and archaeologists anticipate finding many more as they excavate the site. Results of their reveal a number of factors that show we are still at risk of plague today.
RTI International’s 3D heart catheter receives innovation award
March 11, 2013 10:46 am | News | CommentsAn RTI International-developed prototype catheter that can generate live, streaming 3D ultrasound images from inside the heart has recently received a Cardiovascular Innovation Award at the 2013 Cardiovascular Research Technologies Annual Symposium. Called a live volumetric imaging intracardiac catheter, the technology has the potential to improve catheter-based heart procedures.
Stroke prevention device misses key goal in study
March 11, 2013 9:16 am | by Marilynn Marchione, AP Chief Medical Writer | News | CommentsThe future is unclear for a promising heart device aimed at preventing strokes in people at high risk of them because of an irregular heartbeat. Early results from a key study of Boston Scientific Corp.'s Watchman device suggested it is safer than previous testing found, but may not be better than a drug that is used now for preventing strokes, heart-related deaths and blood clots in people with atrial fibrillation over the long term.
Study finds length of DNA strands can predict life expectancy
March 11, 2013 8:46 am | News | CommentsCan the length of strands of DNA in patients with heart disease predict their life expectancy? Researchers from the Intermountain Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City, who studied the DNA of more than 3,500 patients with heart disease, say yes it can.
Scientists manipulate protein activity with newly found enzymes
March 11, 2013 8:43 am | News | CommentsProtein activity is strictly regulated. Incorrect or poor protein regulation can lead to uncontrolled growth and thus cancer or chronic inflammation. Researchers in Switzerland have identified enzymes that can regulate the activity of medically important proteins. Their discovery enables these proteins to be manipulated very selectively, opening up new treatment methods.
Rapid cancer detection built on a chip
March 8, 2013 3:39 pm | News | CommentsEarly detection is vital for the effective treatment of cancer. In many cases, tell-tale biomarkers are present in the bloodstream long before outward symptoms become apparent. The development of an inexpensive and rapid point-of-care diagnostic test capable of spotting such early biomarkers of disease could save many lives. A research team in Japan working on developing such a test has now produced their most sensitive microRNA detector yet.
Scientists find previously unknown purpose for cellular “gateway”
March 7, 2013 3:46 pm | News | CommentsA research team with members and Canada and the United States have discovered that a "gateway" known to control the movement of molecules in and out of a cell's nucleus appears to play another critically important role. Its second job is the ability to control the structure of chromosomes and the DNA linked to those chromosomes. This impacts what genes produce or express.
Scientists focus on another Sandy loss: lab mice
March 6, 2013 2:46 pm | by Malcolm Ritter, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsIt was one of the most dramatic stories from Superstorm Sandy: More than 300 patients including tiny babies safely removed from a flooded New York hospital that lost power. But in a research building at the complex, where thousands of lab mice were kept, the story had a sadder ending. A storm surge into the basement swamped some 7,000 cages of mice used for studying cancer, diabetes, brain development and other health issues. About 50 scientists at the Langone Medical Center are going through the slow process of replacing them
New tool better estimates pandemic threats
March 6, 2013 11:12 am | News | CommentsA simple new method better assesses the risks posed by emerging zoonotic viruses Researchers show that the new tool can produce transmissibility estimates for swine flu, allowing researchers to better evaluate the possible pandemic threat posed by this virus. ntil now, estimates of transmissibility were derived from detailed outbreak investigations, which are resource intensive and subject to selection bias.
Traceable nanoparticles may be the next weapon in cancer treatment
March 5, 2013 8:58 am | by Karin Söderlund Leifler and Peter Larsson, KTH Royal Institute of Technology | News | CommentsTherapeutic and diagnostic in function, so-called “theranostic” particles have been developed by a team in Sweden. These small particles can be loaded with medicine and could be a future weapon for cancer treatment. Because the particles can be seen in magnetic resonance images, they are traceable.
Nanodiamonds being perfected for use in biomedical applications
March 4, 2013 8:29 am | News | CommentsScientists in Australia are perfecting a technique that may help see nanodiamonds used in biomedical applications. They have been processing the raw diamonds so that they might be used as a tag for biological molecules and as a probe for single-molecule interactions. With the help of an international team, these diamonds have recently been optically trapped and manipulated in three dimensions—the first time this has been achieved.
Nanogels offer new way to attack lupus
March 1, 2013 3:22 pm | by Eric Gershon, Yale University | News | CommentsIn systemic lupus erythematosus, the body attacks itself for largely mysterious reasons, leading to serious tissue inflammation and organ damage. Current drug treatments address symptoms only and can require life-long daily use at toxic doses. Now, scientists at Yale University have designed and tested a drug delivery system that uses biodegradable nanoparticles to deliver low drug doses. The method shows early promise for improved treatment of lupus and other chronic, uncured autoimmune diseases.
How do bacteria clog medical devices? Very quickly.
March 1, 2013 2:46 pm | News | CommentsA new study has examined how bacteria clog medical devices, and the result isn’t pretty. The microbes join to create slimey ribbons that tangle and trap other passing bacteria, creating a full blockage in a startlingly short period of time. The finding could help shape strategies for preventing clogging of devices such as stents and water filters
Diagnostic cocktail: Pour, shake and stir
March 1, 2013 10:01 am | News | CommentsA homebrewed diagnostic mixture containing a single drop of blood, a dribble of water, and a dose of DNA powder with gold particles could mean rapid diagnosis and treatment of the world's leading diseases in the near future. The cocktail diagnostic is being developed at the University of Toronto and it involves the same technology used in over-the-counter pregnancy tests.
After the human genome project: The human microbiome project
February 28, 2013 12:51 pm | News | CommentsCommunities of microbes within our bodies, called the "microbiome," are considered to be so crucial to our health that some consider it to be a complex "second genome." In a recently published report, scientists take an important step toward designing a uniform protocol for microbiome research that ensures proper controls and considerations for variations among people. By doing this, future researchers should be able to better assess how what we ingest, whether drugs or food, affects our bodies.
Brown unveils novel wireless brain sensor
February 28, 2013 9:08 am | News | CommentsA team of neuroengineers based at Brown University has developed a fully implantable and rechargeable wireless brain sensor capable of relaying real-time broadband signals from up to 100 neurons in freely moving subjects. Several copies of the novel low-power device have been performing well in animal models for more than year, a first in the brain-computer interface field.
