medicine

Science is going to great lengths to harness the ability to detect disease before it can wreak havoc on the human body. From a cancer detecting bra, to a smartphone accessory that can detect HIV, new medical gadgets are making it easier to identify what ails us. Recently, researchers have decided to do away with the gadgetry altogether, letting bacteria do the work. These new, mutant bacteria are bioengineered to detect specific diseases, and change the color of the patient's urine for a fast diagnosis.

Continue Reading

At some point in the future, you may no longer need to suffer through injections to have certain medications administered. The Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis and the US biotech startup Rani Therapeutics have revealed they will together in developing a "robotic pill" that could simply be swallowed and then deliver drugs to the body via needles made of sugar. This has the potential to make taking certain medication much more convenient for patients, as it could be a new delivery method for drugs that have never been possible in pill form before.

Continue Reading

In the rare, but serious, cases of a radiation leak like the Fukushima nuclear plant's meltdown, first responders are tasked with sending radiation victims to triage based on their level of exposure. A new genetics-based blood test could be a faster, more accurate way to assess how individual victims will respond to radiation. Researchers from Harvard Medical School and New York City's Montefiore Medical Center have created a method of identifying long-term damage from radiation, immediately. Their technique involved looking beyond blood cell counts and delving into blood-bound genes.

Continue Reading

IBM's powerful supercomputer, Watson, can make calculations at superhuman speeds, making connections between analyzed data that humans might miss. This is exactly why a team of oncologists plans to use Watson to guide cancer therapies at fourteen different cancer institutes in America and Canada. The hospitals are paying IBM a subscription fee to access the supercomputer. Watson will be especially useful to oncology institutes as cancer doesn't have a one-size-fits-all protocol. Sure, we imagine it's as simple as radiation or chemotherapy, but sometimes tumor cells induce odd mutations in surrounding cells, making them impervious to standard treatments.

Continue Reading

Scientists in China have genetically modified human embryos, embarking on a slippery slope that could be capable of a calamitous ripple effect in human offspring. Scholarship aside, the ethics questions that sprout from genetically altering human embryos are innumerable. In a paper published by the journal Protein and Cell, a research team in GuangZhou, China, headed by Junjiu Huang, detailed their process and results of genetic editing. The gene in question is responsible for β-thalassaemia, which is a blood disorder that can be potentially fatal. Researchers used the CRISPR/Cas9 technique to edit the genes. As a matter of ethics, the researchers only used "non-viable" embryos that would be unable to make it to a live birth.

Continue Reading

Despite our many advancements in technology, there are still some biological matters that continue to confound and befuddle us. It might come as a surprise to many that color blindness, a condition that affects more than 10 million in the US alone, is one of those. But hopefully not anymore. Jay and Maureen Neitz, husband and wife researchers from the University of Washington, may finally have a way to fix this genetic mutation to help those affected by it to see in color again. And it won't even require surgery.

Continue Reading

Ebola field doctors' need for an "Ebola-proof" tablet is finally filled. Hose it down with de-contaminating bleach, and all of the data will still be safe as its virus-free exterior. Here's something you probably never considered about the world's Ebola outbreaks: How can doctors and nurses keep track of patient data when every piece of paper, pen, and clipboard becomes contaminated just by being in the hot zone? As it turns out, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the doctors were shouting patient data over makeshift barricades to avoid spreading the contagion.

Continue Reading

While traditional 3D-printers build objects using layers of plastic, we've seem some great strides in 3D-printing like lattices emerging from amorphous, resinous goo. Now bioprinters are entering the ring with their ability to create 3D models from biological materials. There's no need to wait for an ear to grow on the back of a mouse; this bioprinter from the ETH Zurich Cartilage Engineering and Regeneration Group can print a nose from biopolymers and living cartilage cells in only 16 minutes. Best of all, no mice are harmed in the process!

Continue Reading

It's so easy to get distracted these days when we really need to focus. A new set of glasses may hold the key to honing your concentration. These glasses aren't prescription strength; they actually darken when you become unfocused which trains your brain to concentrate so the lenses stay clear. Perhaps calling them glasses is a bit of a misnomer. It's actually the Narbis wearable neurofeedback device. Narbis is hoping to take the focus-improving science of neurofeedback out of a clinical setting and bring it to everyone through Kickstarter.

Continue Reading

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among Americans. Recently the bio-tech industry has been exploding with cardiac research like last week's heart attack preventing nanobots. New research by the team at the University of California, Berkley has created working human heart cells on a tiny chip designed to test the efficacy of new drugs in clinical trials. This heart-on-a-chip is officially known as a cardiac microphysiological system, or MPS. Using this heart-on-a-chip, scientists can measure the potential cardiac damage of a drug before it reaches expensive human trials.

Continue Reading

Organ transplant lists are notoriously long. Sometimes a patient in need has to wait years to receive a transplant, if they are lucky enough to receive one at all. The most successful transplants come from living donors, but a faithful friend isn't always a medical match to her friend in need. Enter MatchGrid, a biomedical program designed to match potential kidney donors and recipients. MatchGrid was created by former WIRED editor and kidney recipient David Jacobs. His program established a method to match twelve people and create a six-way kidney transplant chain.

Continue Reading

Soon it may be possible to prevent heart attacks by an injection of nano-particles into the bloodstream, according to the newest research paper from the scientists at Columbia University Medical Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in America. A large part of that is atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. This occurs as plaques build up along the inside of the arterial wall. The research team created targeted nano-particles designed to heal atherosclerosis. This is the latest discovery in a growing field of pint-sized medical discoveries. We've seen robots that can swim inside your eyeball and smart pills, but nothing as small as this nano-treatment.

Continue Reading