Category: Conference
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“Nanosponge vaccine” induces immune response to fight MRSA toxins
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/Dec/01/vaccine-nanoparticles-ucsd-efficient/ UCSD professor Liangfang Zhang has developed a “nanosponge vaccine” which has enabled the immune systems of mice to block the adverse effects of the alpha-haemolysin toxin from MRSA—both within the bloodstream and on the skin. The nanosponges in the “toxoid vaccine” platform are bio-compatible particles made of a polymer core wrapped in a red-blood-cell membrane. Each…
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Stem cells converted to functional lung cells; could impact modeling, drug screening, transplantation
http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nbt.2754.html Columbia professor Hans-Willem Snoeck and colleagues have transformed human stem cells into functional lung and airway cells. This has significant potential for modeling lung disease, screening drugs, studying human lung development, and, ultimately, generating lung tissue for transplantation. The research builds on Dr. Snoeck’s 2011 discovery of a set of chemical factors that can turn human embryonic…
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“Passive sensor” home health monitoring platform launches
http://www.irc-sphere.ac.uk/ The Universities of Bristol, Southhampton and Reading have launched their long anticipated continuous monitoring Sensor Platform for Healthcare in a Residential Environment (SPHERE). The system will detect overnight or mini-strokes by noticing small changes in behavior or expression. It can be used to identify the early stages of heart disease, dementia, diabetes, depression and…
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Orthopedic surgeons “draw” regenerating bone material on body with “BioPen” prototype
http://media.uow.edu.au/news/UOW162803 Researchers from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science at the University of Wollongong unveiled a prototype of an orthopedic surgery aid they call “BioPen”. They claim that it enables customized implants to be created at the time of surgery, eliminating the need to harvest cartilage and grow it for weeks in…
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Noninvasive nanoparticle diagnostic detects blood clots early
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/nn403550c Current blood clot tests are very indirect. MIT’s Sangeeta Bhatia has developed a diagnostic based on technology first reported to detect colorectal cancer. The system consists of iron oxide nanoparticles, FDA approved for human use, coated with specialized peptides that interact with thrombin. After being injected into mice, the nanoparticles travel throughout the body. When the particles…
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Real-time detector for intravenously delivered drugs
http://phys.org/news/2013-09-real-time-detector-iv-drugs-life-threatening.html A University of Illinois developed optical device can identify fluid in an IV line in real-time, improving the safety of delivery. Professor Brian T. Cunningham and his team used Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) technology, a powerful analytical tool prized for its extreme sensitivity in obtaining molecular signals that can be used to identify chemicals.…
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Collaborative robots work alongside humans
http://www.economist.com/news/technology-quarterly/21584455-robotics-new-breed-robots-being-designed-collaborate-humans The Economist’s Technology Quarterly describes several examples of “collaborative robots” with qualities that allow them to team with people in factories, at home, or in the classroom.
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Data glasses controlled by eye movement — an alternative to brain machine interface
http://www.domain-b.com/technology/20130912_movements.html Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute have developed bidirectional OLED microdisplay eye-controlled data glasses. Users can view the real world while browsing a large amount of virtual information and turn pages with their eyes. Integrated camera sensors register the direction of the wearer’s eye movements and an image processing program calculates the exact position of…
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“Artificial nose” speeds sepsis diagnosis
http://phys.org/news/2013-09-artificial-nose-device-diagnosis-sepsis.html Researchers at the National University of Kaohsiung in Taiwan and the University of Illinois have developed an “artificial nose” capable of detecting the odor of germs that lead to blood poisoning. Within 24 hours it determines whether a patient’s blood has bacteria that cause sepsis, a gain of up to two days over conventional methods.…
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Human-to-human brain interface – UW researcher controls colleague’s movement
http://www.washington.edu/news/2013/08/27/researcher-controls-colleagues-motions-in-1st-human-brain-to-brain-interface/ University of Washington researchers have performed what they believe is the first noninvasive human-to-human brain interface, with one researcher able to send a brain signal via the Internet to control the hand motions of a fellow researcher. Using electrical brain recordings and a form of magnetic stimulation, Rajesh Rao sent a brain signal to Andrea Stocco on the other…
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Eliminating sugar slows cancer growth
http://www.scotsman.com/news/health/cutting-off-sugar-could-stop-cancer-growth-1-3024411 Old but important news: Eliminating sugar can slow cancer growth. Researchers were aware that all cancer cells are attracted to sugar, grabbing it from the blood before using it to fuel their growth. In breast cancer the process involves binding proteins called CtBPs together to form pairs known as dimers. These in turn help…
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Piezo-Phototronic LEDs may help robots feel
http://www.nature.com/nphoton/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nphoton.2013.191.html In a related development to Berkeley’s touch responsive e skin, Georgia Tech Professor Zhong Lin Wang has proposed a new “piezo-phototronic” approach to the human-machine interface. Zinc-oxide nanowires serve as tiny LEDs which have an emission intensity dependent on the local strain put on them. The nanowire array could act as artificial skin for robots to…