Medical Technology
Nanostructural polymer-based treatment may ease pain of combat injuries
September 4, 2012 8:23 am | News | CommentsWhen bone is severely injured and amputation of a limb is necessary, or as a consequence of major orthopedic procedures, unwanted new bone formation occurs in the soft tissues surrounding the operated bone and appears as pieces of gravel-like bone. A new nanostructural polymer composite has been developed that can deliver unique RNA into cells at the bone trauma site to prevent unwanted bone features from growing.
Ancient enzymes function like nanopistons to unwind RNA
September 4, 2012 3:52 am | News | CommentsMolecular biologists at the University of Texas at Austin have solved one of the mysteries of how double-stranded RNA is remodeled inside cells in both their normal and disease states. It has been known for some time that so-called DEAD-box enzymes, which are found in all forms of life, do not function like traditional helicases. But recent studies have confirmed their piston-like chemical action, potentially helping future genetic therapies.
Clinical trials get efficiency boost from virtual reality
August 31, 2012 6:45 am | News | CommentsTime-consuming, expensive, and often intrusive, clinical trials are nevertheless a necessity. Researchers at the University of Tennessee Space Institute in Tullahoma have developed an invention that makes clinical trials more efficient. Called "digital Eye Bank," the computer software eye modeling program can take data from eyes of patients' and build it into models from the commercial optics program to be used for researchers' virtual clinical trials.
Scientist creates new cancer drug that is 10 times more potent
August 30, 2012 12:49 pm | News | CommentsIn a new study, University of Missouri medicinal chemists have taken an existing drug that is being developed for use in fighting certain types of cancer and added a special cluster of three elements: boron, carbon, and hydrogen. This structure, called a carborane, has multiplied the binding force of the drug. Clinical could start within two years.
Self-assembling microscopic “reagents” pioneer pourable electronics
August 29, 2012 9:14 am | News | CommentsA research university in Germany has recently won first place a competition between “unconventional” computing solutions with something called a MICREAgent lablet. The unusual invention is a self-assembling electronic device almost as small as a biological cell. At its heart is a 3D microchip, or lablet, that can produce desired chemicals or coatings when given electronic instructions.
Gene sleuths stop superbug that killed six
August 27, 2012 3:36 am | by Lauran Neergaard, AP Medical Writer | News | CommentsOver six frightening months, a deadly germ untreatable by most antibiotics spread in the nation's leading research hospital. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health locked down patients, cleaned with bleach, even ripped out plumbing—and still the germ persisted. It took gene detectives teasing apart the bacteria's DNA to solve the germ's wily spread, a CSI-like saga with lessons for hospitals everywhere as they struggle to contain the growing threat of superbugs.
Synthetic platelets could stop life-threatening internal bleeding
August 22, 2012 9:23 am | News | CommentsInspired by studies showing there are few options to treat soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq who suffer internal injuries from the roadside bombs known as improvised explosive devices, researchers at Case Western Reserve University have made significant advances toward developing synthetic platelets that could be both portable and effective for stopping the life-threatening bleeding that occurs from these types of injuries.
Study details power of new chip to diagnose disease, analyze proteins
August 20, 2012 10:33 am | by Krista Conger | News | CommentsResearchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Intel Corp. have collaborated to synthesize and study a grid-like array of short pieces of a disease-associated protein on silicon chips normally used in computer microprocessors. Used recently to identify patients with a severe form of lupus, the new technology has the potential to improve diagnoses of a multitude of diseases.
One-two chemical punch sends cancer tumors into remission
August 20, 2012 5:02 am | News | CommentsCancers release chemicals that confuse the immune system. Countering this effect, researchers led by Tarek Fahmy of Yale University have recently developed a system to simultaneously deliver a sustained dose of both an immune-system booster and a chemical to block the cancer's secretions. In mice this therapy has delayed tumor growth and even sent tumors into remission.
Testing cholesterol with a photograph
August 17, 2012 6:47 am | News | CommentsResearchers in India have developed a total cholesterol test that uses a digital camera to take a snapshot of the back of the patient's hand rather than a blood sample. The image obtained is cropped and compared against thousands of images in a database for known cholesterol levels.
Could FastStitch device be the future of suture?
August 17, 2012 3:55 am | News | CommentsTo cut down on postoperative problems, particularly those involving abdomenal surgery, Johns Hopkins undergraduates have invented a disposable suturing tool to guide the placement of stitches and guard against the accidental puncture of internal organs. Called FastStitch, it’s described a cross between a pliers and a hole-puncher.
An artificial retina with the capacity to restore normal vision
August 15, 2012 3:58 am | News | CommentsFor the first time, researchers have deciphered the retina's neural code for brain communication. It could allow scientists to create a more effective prosthetic retinal device for blindness, one that might be similar to the visor used on the television show Star Trek. The visor's camera will take in light and use a computer chip to turn it into a code that the brain can translate into an image.
The power to heal at the tips of your fingers
August 10, 2012 7:27 am | News | CommentsA international research team has mimicked and recreated the intricate properties of human fingertips using semiconductor devices. The devices, shown to be capable of responding with high precision to the stresses and strains associated with touch and finger movement, may lead to the development of advanced surgical gloves.
High-tech silver dressings ward off infection in wounds
August 1, 2012 11:51 am | News | CommentsPioneered by a multidisciplinary team of researchers and applied onto the business end of artificial skin, nanofilms that release antibacterial silver over time have recently shown they can eradicate bacteria in full-thickness skin wounds in mice.
Tumor cells change when put into a “tight spot”
August 1, 2012 11:45 am | by Allison Chambliss, Johns Hopkins University | News | CommentsSurprisingly, 90% of cancer deaths are caused from metastasis,the migration of cancer cells from a primary tumor to other parts of the body, not from the primary tumor alone. To better understand what happens to cells affected by this process, Johns Hopkins University researchers have fabricated a microfluidic-based cell migration chamber that has already yielded surprising results.
Tissue engineering tool creates flesh on a large scale
August 1, 2012 4:26 am | News | CommentsImagine a machine that makes layered, substantial patches of engineered tissue. Sounds like science fiction? According to researchers at the University of Toronto, it's a growing possibility. They have invented a method that incorporates cells onto a mosaic hydrogel that offers the perfect conditions for growth.
Prozac could be an effective anti-viral
July 30, 2012 4:15 am | News | CommentsResearchers have come across an unexpected potential use for fluoxetine—commonly known as Prozac—which shows promise as an antiviral agent. Using molecular screening, a California research team found that fluoxetine was a potent inhibitor of replication in viruses found in the gastrointestinal tract. The discovery could provide another tool in treating human enteroviruses that sicken and kill people in the U.S. and around the world.
Celebrated molecular biology lab manual updated, expanded
July 30, 2012 3:56 am | News | CommentsMolecular Cloning has served as the foundation of technical expertise in labs worldwide for 30 years. No other manual has been so popular, or so influential. For the fourth edition of this classic work, the content has been entirely recast to include nucleic-acid based methods selected as the most widely used and valuable in molecular and cellular biology laboratories.
Wyss Institute aims to mimic whole human body with organ-on-chip
July 27, 2012 7:35 am | News | CommentsThe Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University this week reported that it will receive up to $37 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop an automated instrument that integrates 10 human organs-on-chips to study complex human physiology outside the body. The aim is to simulate the entire body’s physiology.
The Olympics and bare feet: The debate continues
July 27, 2012 7:22 am | News | CommentsEthiopian runner Abebe Bikila made history when he earned a gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. His speed and agility won him the gold, but it was barefoot running that made him a legend. Since then, experts have been split on whether running barefoot is beneficial. Recent research sheds light on why opinions have been so inconclusive.
Computational method simplifies gene selection for drug development
July 24, 2012 5:58 pm | News | CommentsResearchers have developed a new computational method that will make it easier for scientists to identify and prioritize genes, drug targets, and strategies for repositioning drugs that are already on the market. By mining large datasets more simply and efficiently, researchers will be able to better understand genomic and proteomics interactions, as well as identify fellow researchers with whom they can collaborate.
Microneedles help target therapeutics to the back of the eye
July 23, 2012 9:33 am | News | CommentsThanks to tiny microneedles, eye doctors may soon have a better way to treat diseases such as macular degeneration that affect tissues in the back of the eye. For the first time, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University have demonstrated that microneedles less than a millimeter in length can deliver drug molecules and particles to the eye in an animal model.
Better systems needed for medical device cybersecurity
July 20, 2012 6:00 am | News | CommentsMedical devices save countless lives, and increasingly functions such as data storage and wireless communication allow for individualized patient care and other advances. But after their recent study, an interdisciplinary team of medical researchers and computer scientists warn that federal regulators need to improve how they track security and privacy problems in medical devices.
Scientists show new compound virtually eliminates HIV in cell culture
July 20, 2012 3:45 am | News | CommentsA new study by scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute shows, in cell culture, a natural compound can virtually eliminate human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in infected cells. The compound defines a novel class of HIV anti-viral drugs endowed with the capacity to repress viral replication in acutely and chronically infected cells.
Nanoscale scaffold, stem cells show promise in cartilage repair
July 18, 2012 4:30 am | News | CommentsJohns Hopkins Hospital tissue engineers have used tiny, artificial fiber scaffolds thousands of times smaller than a human hair to help coax stem cells into developing into cartilage, the shock-absorbing lining of elbows and knees that often wears thin from injury or age.
