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Microscope system designed to acquire very low-light bioluminescence images introduced in North America by Olympus America

A benchtop commercial microscope system designed to acquire very low-light bioluminescence images has now been introduced in North America by Olympus America. The LV200 stand-alone microscope system is already being used to capture images of living cells and tissues by researchers in Europe and Japan.

From Evident Corporation - Life Sciences 29 Nov 2012

Study demonstrates memory-enhancing effects of low-level light therapy

It's called the "Silver Tsunami" - the swelling number of baby boomers surpassing age 65. As medical advancements extend their lives, they're expected to live well into their 80s and 90s - outlasting any generation in American history.

22 Nov 2012

BRIGHTs bind to biomarkers of disease and light up to reveal their location

Called BRIGHTs, the tiny probes described in the online issue of Advanced Materials on Nov. 15, bind to biomarkers of disease and, when swept by an infrared laser, light up to reveal their location.

21 Nov 2012

New solar steam method from Rice University

Rice University scientists have unveiled a revolutionary new technology that uses nanoparticles to convert solar energy directly into steam. The new "solar steam" method from Rice's Laboratory for Nanophotonics (LANP) is so effective it can even produce steam from icy cold water.

20 Nov 2012

Biomolecular imaging: an interview with Professor Roger Reddel

The reason Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) exists is to find ways to treat or prevent childhood disease. Our research programs are focussed on the areas of cancer cell growth, nerve cell signalling, embryology and gene therapy. These four programs have a shared aim of translating novel findings into new treatments for the benefit of families everywhere.

19 Nov 2012

First study to measure minute changes in breast tumor connective tissue fibers

Using advanced microscopes equipped with tissue-penetrating laser light, cancer imaging experts at Johns Hopkins have developed a promising, new way to accurately analyze the distinctive patterns of ultra-thin collagen fibers in breast tumor tissue samples and to help tell if the cancer has spread.

3 Nov 2012

Exposure to short-wavelength blue light enhances CAR in sleep deprived adolescents

Adolescents can be chronically sleep deprived because of their inability to fall asleep early in combination with fixed wakeup times on school days. According to the CDC, almost 70 percent of school children get insufficient sleep—less than 8 hours on school nights.

23 Oct 2012

Sun protection: an interview with Jane Hanrahan

UV radiation is a form of energy being transmitted. Sunlight is main source of UV radiation, although manmade sources also exist, such as the lamps used in sunbeds. At the earth’s surface sunlight consists of approximately 2 percent UV light, 47 percent visible light and 51 percent IR light.

11 Oct 2012

Skin's outmost layer is the first line of defense against UV radiation

Reinhold Dauskardt, PhD, of Stanford's Department of Materials Science and Engineering has been studying skin for years. But when he sent his students to look for data on the mechanical properties of skin, they came back empty-handed. A lot was known about skin structure and disease, but few papers actually talked about its mechanical function - its ability to stretch and resist tension without tearing.

6 Oct 2012

Lighting the way to vascular lesion resolution

Treatment with a new-generation optimized pulsed light device significantly decreases the size and coloration of port wine stains and other vascular cutaneous lesions, show research findings.

5 Oct 2012

Lighting the way to vascular lesion resolution

Treatment with a new-generation optimized pulsed light device significantly decreases the size and coloration of port wine stains and other vascular cutaneous lesions, show research findings.

2 Oct 2012

Advanced optics system noninvasively maps out network of tiny blood vessels beneath the skin

The trained eye of a dermatologist can identify many types of skin lesions, but human sight only goes so far. Now an international team of researchers has developed an advanced optics system to noninvasively map out the network of tiny blood vessels beneath the outer layer of patients' skin, potentially revealing telltale signs of disease.

24 Sep 2012

World experts shed light on the extent of dangers of night-time artificial lighting

"The most important thing for us is to raise awareness of the dangers of artificial light at night and we have already come a long way now that the American Medical Association (AMA) recently announced its new policy recognizing adverse health effects of exposure to light at night and encouraging further research into the matter," said Prof. Abraham Haim, a leading authority on light pollution, who coordinated the 21st International Congress of Zoology (ICZ) that was held last week at the University of Haifa, Israel.

12 Sep 2012

Study finds sex differences in vision between men and women

The way that the visual centers of men and women's brains works is different, finds new research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Biology of Sex Differences. Men have greater sensitivity to fine detail and rapidly moving stimuli, but women are better at discriminating between colors.

4 Sep 2012

SPR microscopy examines binding kinetics of membrane proteins

Proteins adorning the surfaces of human cells perform an array of essential functions, including cell signaling, communication and the transport of vital substances into and out of cells. They are critical targets for drug delivery and many proteins are now being identified as disease biomarkers - early warning beacons announcing the pre-symptomatic presence of cancers and other diseases.

29 Aug 2012

Cholera toxin binds differently to intestinal cells than previously thought

The likelihood of becoming seriously ill from cholera depends on your blood group. It is possible to find a new remedy for the feared illness by studying the molecular structure in the toxin in the cholera bacteria.

28 Aug 2012

Fluorescent molecules 'tag' DNA and monitor looping process

In a new study, UT Dallas researchers outline how they used fluorescent molecules to "tag" DNA and monitor a process called DNA looping, a natural biological mechanism involved in rearranging genetic material in some types of cells.

13 Aug 2012

FDA clears Reflectance Medical's CareGuide Oximeter

Reflectance Medical, a commercial-stage company focused on the development of physiologic sensors to non-invasively and continuously assess patient metabolic status, announced today that it has received FDA 510(k) clearance for its initial product, the CareGuide Oximeter.

31 Jul 2012

HemoGlobe device can identify women with anemia

Could a low-cost screening device connected to a cell phone save thousands of women and children from anemia-related deaths and disabilities? That's the goal of Johns Hopkins biomedical engineering undergraduates who've developed a noninvasive way to identify women with this dangerous blood disorder in developing nations. The device, HemoGlobe, is designed to convert the existing cell phones of health workers into a "prick-free" system for detecting and reporting anemia at the community level.

25 Jul 2012

Sunbed users at a 20% increased relative risk of skin cancer

Of 63,942 new cases of cutaneous melanoma (a form of skin cancer) diagnosed each year in Europe an estimated 3,438 (5.4%) are related to sunbed use. Sunbed users are at a 20% increased relative risk of skin cancer compared with those who have never used a sunbed. This risk doubles if they start before the age of 35 and experts warn that “tougher actions” are needed to reduce this risk.

25 Jul 2012