Tag: materials science
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Injected Drug Forms Anti-Cancer Nanoparticles in Tumors
15 March 2016. Medical researchers developed a drug delivery technique that in lab mice forms anti-cancer nanoparticles inside metastatic tumors, promising much more potent cancer treatments. The team led by Mauro Ferrari and Haifa Shen at Houston Methodist Research Institute in Texas published its findings in yesterday’s (14 March) issue of Nature Biotechnology; paid subscription…
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Beta Cell Patch Designed to Control Blood Glucose Levels
14 March 2016. A patch device made of beta cells — the cells that produce insulin — was shown to produce insulin on demand in lab mice induced with diabetes. A team from the biomedical engineering department jointly hosted by University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University in Raleigh published…
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Process Devised for Plastics from Carbon Dioxide, Plants
10 March 2016. Producing common plastics like polyester today often needs large inputs of fossil fuel derivatives. A chemistry lab at Stanford University in California developed a low-carbon alternative to polyester that combines recycled carbon dioxide with inedible plant matter, such as agricultural waste, as reported in today’s issue of the journal Nature. Matthew Kanan…
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Hydrogel Injection Tested to Treat Advanced Artery Disease
9 March 2016. A biomedical engineering team developed an injected hydrogel for advanced cases of peripheral artery disease that in lab animals improved blood flow and muscles in affected limbs. Researchers from University of California in San Diego, led by bioengineering professor Karen Christman, published their findings earlier this year in the Journal of the…
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Material Hides Beta Cell Transplants From Immune Reaction
26 January 2016. Engineering and biochemical researchers developed a material that in lab animals holds and protects transplanted pancreatic beta cells against an immune reaction, a key advance in treatments for individuals with type 1 diabetes. Teams from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other institutions published their findings about the material in the 25 January…
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Biodegradable Brain Sensors Developed, Tested
19 January 2016. Engineers and medical researchers developed tiny, implanted sensors measuring brain functions in lab animals that dissolve and leave the body in a few weeks. The team from University of Illinois in Urbana and Washington University in St. Louis published its findings on 18 January in the journal Nature (paid subscription required). Researchers…
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€50,000 Challenge Seeks New Gas Technologies
28 December 2015. A challenge competition from industrial gas developer Air Liquide asks researchers to devise new solutions for three sustainable applications of gas molecules. Each of the three challenges awards a cash prize of €50,000 ($US 55,000), and an opportunity to earn another €500,000 in funding to develop the proposed solution. The competitions begin receiving entries on 6 January 2016,…
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Bioactive Glass Reduces Decay in Tooth Cavity Fillings
23 December 2015. An engineering group at Oregon State University adapted a type of glass material that in lab models slows the decay in teeth with composite cavity fillings. The team led by materials engineering professor Jamie Kruzic published its findings in the January 2016 issue of the journal Dental Materials. Kruzic, with colleagues from…
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Nanofibers, Stem Cells Studied for Rotator Cuff Repair
16 December 2015. An engineering lab at Columbia University is researching a new regenerative process that better integrates human tendon and bone tissue to repair rotator cuff injuries. The team led by biomedical engineering professor Helen Lu is funded by $1.1 million grant from Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs in the U.S. Department of Defense.…
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Nanotech Multi-Drug Delivery Technique Devised for Cancer
10 December 2015. A pharmacy lab at Oregon State University developed a technique for combining three drugs into nanoscale particles that treat melanoma spreading to lymph nodes in lab animals. The team led by Oregon State pharmacy professor Adam Alani published its proof-of-concept findings last month in Journal of Controlled Release (paid subscription required). Alani’s…