Category: New products
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Statistical Database Analysis Links Genes, High Cholesterol
Researchers at University of Massachusetts in Amherst and University of Pennsylvania developed a technique for analyzing public databases with open-source software to discover populations at genetic risk for disease at lower cost. The team led by UMass biostatistician Andrea Foulkes (pictured right) reported its findings yesterday in the online journal PLoS One. The technique called…
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Nanotech Capsule Delivers Cancer Drugs, Spares Healthy Cells
Engineers at University of California in Los Angeles and University of Southern California developed tiny degradable capsules that can deliver cancer treatments directly to tumors, sparing healthy cells from damage. The team led by UCLA professor Yi Tang published its findings online in the journal Nano Today (paid subscription required). Tang (pictured left) and colleagues…
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Study to Test if Hearing Aids Reduce Falls by Elderly
Researchers at University of Texas in Dallas and North Texas University in Fort Worth are evaluating if hearing aids and related technologies can improve the balance of people with auditory problems. The study is funded by a $100,000 grant from the Texas Medical Research Collaborative. Sense of balance relies on the vestibular system of the…
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Clinical Trials To Test More Tamiflu Effects, Plasma on Flu
National Institutes of Health plans three new clinical trials of influenza therapies, two trials involving the current flu drug oseltamivir, and a third trial testing plasma enriched with anti-influenza antibodies. The clinical studies, for which NIH is seeking volunteers, are being held at NIH in Bethesda, Maryland and at 36 other sites elsewhere in the…
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3D Printing Reproduces Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Biomedical engineers at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K. and the company Roslin Cellab also near Edinburgh developed a lab technique with ink-jet printing to build human embryonic stem cells. The team led by Heriot-Watt professor Will Wenmiao Shu published its findings yesterday in the journal Biofabrication (available free with regisration for 30 days). While…
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Plant Genes Altered to Add More Kernels On Ears of Corn
Plant scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York engineered a key gene in maize — called corn in North America — that encourages their version of stem cells to develop more kernels per ear. The findings of David Jackson and colleagues at Cold Spring Harbor appeared online yesterday in the journal Nature Genetics…
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Modeling, Biotechnology Boost Antibiotic Impact on Pathogens
Biomedical engineers at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering combined computer modeling with biotechnology techniques to weaken resistance of E. coli cells to antibiotics. The team led by Jim Collins, with colleagues from Boston University, published its findings today online in the journal Nature Biotechnology, and filed a U.S. patent for the technology.…
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Weaknesses Found in Online Banking, Facebook Security
Computer scientists at University of London’s Royal Holloway College found what they call major weaknesses in the security protocol for protecting online e-mail, Facebook, and financial transactions. The team led by Royal Holloway information security professor Kenny Paterson say they found the vulnerabilities in the transport layer security protocol designed to prevent eavesdropping, tampering, and…
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Techniques Developed for Defect-Free Graphene Formation
Researchers in the U.K., Germany, and Greece developed a method of forming graphene layers with uniform orientation and alignment, using established and inexpensive techniques. The team led by University of Oxford materials scientist Nicole Grobert published its findings online last week in the journal ACS Nano (paid subscription required). Grobert (pictured right), with colleagues from…
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Weill Cornell, N.Y. Hospital Open Precision Medicine Center
Weill Cornell Medical College and New York-Presbyterian Hospital are opening a medical research and clinical center in New York to deliver targeted, individualized treatments based on each patient’s genetic profile. The Institute for Precision Medicine, as the new center is called, will conduct genetic research to develop new therapies for testing in clinical trials, while…