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Camera-phone uses blood, saliva samples to diagnose disease

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a "prototype camera-phone mounted with a microscope" that can "magnify and photograph blood or saliva samples" for diagnosing diseases, the Canadian Press/Google.com reports.

22 Jul 2009

NovaSterilis receives patent for vaccine creation using supercritical carbon dioxide

NovaSterilis Inc., a developer of supercritical carbon dioxide technology for biomedical applications, announces the issue of US Patent 7,560,113 for creation and production of whole cell vaccines with supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO2)*.

22 Jul 2009

Parabon NanoLabs awarded research grant to develop novel cancer therapeutics

Parabon NanoLabs, a leading designer and manufacturer of breakthrough products at the nanoscale, announced today its award of a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant.

21 Jul 2009

Prehypertension, obesity and kidney disease risks

People with prehypertension are not at increased risk of kidney disease if their body mass index (BMI) is under 30.0 kg/m2, a first-ever examination of the combined effect of blood pressure and body weight on the risk of kidney disease shows.

21 Jul 2009

Electronic nose detects vapours emitted by human skin in real time

A team of researchers from the Yale University (United States) and a Spanish company have developed a system to detect the vapours emitted by human skin in real time. The scientists think that these substances, essentially made up of fatty acids, are what attract mosquitoes and enable dogs to identify their owners.

21 Jul 2009

Implantable device offers continuous cancer monitoring

Surgical removal of a tissue sample is now the standard for diagnosing cancer. Such procedures, known as biopsies, are accurate but offer only a snapshot of the tumor at a single moment in time.

21 Jul 2009

Nanoparticle-based “chemical nose” sniffs out cancer earlier to improve treatment options

Using a "chemical nose" array of nanoparticles and polymers, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have developed a fundamentally new, more effective way to differentiate not only between healthy and cancerous cells but also between metastatic and nonmetastatic cancer cells. It is a tool that could revolutionize cancer detection and treatment, according to Vincent M. Rotello, Ph.D., M.Phil., and D. Joseph Jerry, Ph.D., M.S., the investigators who led the study.

21 Jul 2009

Clinton says U.S. will work with India to address health challenges, hunger

The U.S. will work to address the health challenges facing India among other countries and will aim to improve maternal and child health care services through comprehensive dialogue, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday after visiting a Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) trade outlet in Mumbai, India, PTI/Yahoo! News reports.

20 Jul 2009

South Africa launches HIV/AIDS vaccine trial

"The first clinical trial of an HIV/AIDS vaccine designed and developed in South Africa was launched in Cape Town" Monday, the SAPA/The Times reports.

20 Jul 2009

Scientists develop process for 'surgical' genetic changes

Research led by scientists at Iowa State University's Plant Sciences Institute has resulted in a process that will make genetic changes in plant genes much more efficient, practical and safe.

20 Jul 2009

Can pen and paper help make electronic medical records better?

The results of a new study of the pen and paper workarounds employed by healthcare providers who use an electronic medical record system may help make electronic medical records even more useful to health-care providers and the patients they serve.

20 Jul 2009

Oxygen therapy may prevent diabetics losing limbs

Researchers say on a daily basis around 275 Australians develop type 2 diabetes and worldwide, every 30 seconds a person somewhere has a lower limb amputated because of diabetic foot disease.

16 Jul 2009

Cost of health care reform emerges as ‘lightning rod’ issue

The cost of health care reform has emerged as a key battle in overhaul efforts. Attention is being paid to how costs will affect specific groups including the middle class and businesses.

16 Jul 2009

Alcohol intoxication and mental health among adolescents

Teens who drink heavily are more likely than their peers to have behavioural and attention problems and suffer from anxiety and depression, a team led by researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has reported.

16 Jul 2009

"Drops" of gold that burn tumors

At a technical breakfast, Romain Quidant presented his research into the detection and treatment of cancer using gold nanoparticles illuminated with laser light. Quidant, who was recently awarded the Fresnel Prize 2009 that recognizes the highest level of excellence amongst emerging researchers in the field of photonics, is an ICREA researcher at the UPC's Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) and a fellow of the Cellex Foundation Barcelona.

16 Jul 2009

New research tool – map of genomic variation for diagnosing and identifying genetic problems

Genetics researchers have unveiled a powerful new resource for scientists and health providers studying human illnesses -- a reference standard of deletions and duplications of DNA found in the human genome. Drawn from over 2,000 healthy persons, the study provides one of the deepest and broadest sets of copy number variations (CNVs) available to date, along with a new research tool for diagnosing and identifying genetic problems in patients.

15 Jul 2009

New alliance for discovery of WNT pathway inhibitors to be used in cancer therapy

Cancer Research Technology (CRT), Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Cancer Research UK, Cardiff University and The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) are set to begin a major new research collaboration for the first time. This will provide substantial investment in research on the WNT signalling pathway in the hope of finding new drug targets.

15 Jul 2009

New drug blocks common cancer pathway

Scientists have developed a new drug which can reduce the growth of tumours in mice by up to 98 per cent, according to a study published in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics ** this week.

15 Jul 2009

Upcoming health IT decisions could spell success or failure

"An unprecedented effort to computerize the nation's hospitals and physician offices could be the key to reducing crippling health care costs - or a giveaway to technology vendors whose sales will be subsidized by taxpayers," the Dallas Morning News reports.

15 Jul 2009

New brain visualization technology enables removal of fist-sized tumor

A new technology involving the fusion of four different types of images into a 3-D map of a patient's brain has helped University of Cincinnati (UC) specialists successfully remove a fist-sized tumor from the brain of an Indiana woman.

14 Jul 2009