-
Chip Device Simulates Human Gut Interactions
11 May 2016. A device simulating the human intestine was shown in lab tests to generate similar responses to interactions between gut microbes and cells, as found in humans and animals. The HuMix system — short for Human Microbial Cross Talk — developed by researchers at University of Luxembourg and University of Arizona, is described…
-
Personalized Heart Model Devised for Treatment Decisions
11 May 2016. A medical engineering team developed three-dimensional computer models of the heart that better predict heart rhythm problems requiring an implanted defibrillator than current guidelines. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University led by biomedical engineering professor Natalia Trayanova published its findings yesterday in the journal Nature Communications. Trayanova and colleagues from the Johns Hopkins…
-
Neurological Biotech Raises $65M in Venture Funds
10 May 2016. A biotechnology company designing treatments for neurological disorders caused by rigidity in nerve cell synapses, is raising $65 million in its first venture funding round. Aptinyx Inc. in Evanston, Illinois, is a spin-off enterprise that formed when Naurex Inc., another biotech company, was acquired by drug maker Allergan plc in September 2015.…
-
Vaccine Shown to Give 1-Year Malaria Protection
10 May 2016. An early-stage clinical trial with healthy volunteers shows an experimental vaccine can protect against malaria infection for as long as 1 year. Results of the trial, conducted by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, or NIAID, part of National Institutes of Health, and University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, appear…
-
MIT Spin-Off Develops Material Mimicking Human Skin
9 May 2016. A substance that emulates properties of youthful human skin was shown in pilot tests with human subjects to outperform other materials used for wound dressings. The new polymer material, based on research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and commercialized by Olivo Laboratories, a start-up enterprise, is described in today’s issue of the…
-
566 New Drugs in Pipeline for Orphan Diseases
9 May 2016. A report by an industry group says 566 drugs designed to treat rare diseases are now in clinical testing by pharmaceutical companies. The report, prepared by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, and the ALS Association, credits many of these new drugs to incentives in legislation encouraging research and development…
-
Genome-Editing Company Raises $108 Million in IPO
6 May 2016. Intellia Therapeutics, a developer of therapies based on genome editing, issued its initial public stock offering, raising $108 million. The Cambridge, Massachusetts enterprise, less than 2 years old, issued 6 million shares priced at $18.00. At the 4:00 pm ET closing bell today, company shares trading on the NASDAQ exchange as NTLA…
-
Genomics, Data Tools Track MRSA Outbreaks in Europe
6 May 2016. A combination of whole-genome sequencing and data visualization tools now makes it possible to track the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in European health facilities. A Europe-wide team led by Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and Imperial College London described their software and service yesterday in the journal mBio. The authors call the spread…
-
Trial Underway Testing Antibody for Celiac Disease
5 May 2016. A clinical trial testing an engineered antibody therapy for celiac disease in people that do not respond to a gluten-free diet began treating its first patients. The trial is conducted by Celimmune LLC, a biopharmaceutical company in in Lebanon, New Jersey, but patients are recruited in Finland, where the rate of celiac…
-
Autonomous Robot Shown Better at Soft-Tissue Surgery
5 May 2016. A robotic arm, programmed to work autonomously under direction of a surgeon, was shown superior at soft-tissue surgery with pigs than human surgeons and robot-assisted surgery. Results of these tests, conducted by a team from Children’s National Health System in Washington, D.C., appear in yesterday’s (4 May) issue of the journal Science…