Bioengineering News and Research

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iTube device can detect allergens in food samples

Are you allergic to peanuts and worried there might be some in that cookie? Now you can find out using a rather unlikely source: your cell phone.

13 Dec 2012

New biocompatible patch can repair congenital heart defects

A painstaking effort to create a biocompatible patch to heal infant hearts is paying off at Rice University and Texas Children's Hospital.

13 Dec 2012

University of Washington team develops electrically spun cloth to prevent pregnancy, HIV

The only way to protect against HIV and unintended pregnancy today is the condom. It's an effective technology, but not appropriate or popular in all situations.

1 Dec 2012

Panel of experts recommend more research on health effects of medical imaging

Amid increasing fear of overexposure to radiation from CT scans, a panel of experts has recommended more research on the health effects of medical imaging and ways to reduce unnecessary CT tests, as well as industry standardization of CT machines.

1 Dec 2012

New insights into POT-1/TTP-1 protein complex

New insights into a protein complex that regulates the very tips of chromosomes could improve methods of screening anti-cancer drugs.

30 Nov 2012

Engineered ICCs can improve pancreatic islet transplantation and cure diabetes mellitus

A study published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation, now freely available on-line, reports that a team of researchers in South Korea have successfully engineered islet cell clusters (ICCs) that will improve pancreatic islet transplantation and offer promise for curing diabetes mellitus.

28 Nov 2012

Methylome modifications offer new measure of a person's biological age

Women live longer than men. Individuals can appear or feel years younger - or older - than their chronological age. Diseases can affect our aging process. When it comes to biology, our clocks clearly tick differently.

22 Nov 2012

ReFIT algorithm improves speed and accuracy of neural prosthetics

When a paralyzed person imagines moving a limb, cells in the part of the brain that controls movement still activate as if trying to make the immobile limb work again. Despite neurological injury or disease that has severed the pathway between brain and muscle, the region where the signals originate remains intact and functional.

19 Nov 2012

New nanoparticle halts relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis in mouse model

In a breakthrough for nanotechnology and multiple sclerosis, a biodegradable nanoparticle turns out to be the perfect vehicle to stealthily deliver an antigen that tricks the immune system into stopping its attack on myelin and halt a model of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice, according to new Northwestern Medicine research.

19 Nov 2012

NIH-funded scientists develop new treatment to combat autoimmune disorders in mouse model

In a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed innovative technology to selectively inhibit the part of the immune system responsible for attacking myelin-the insulating material that encases nerve fibers and facilitates electrical communication between brain cells.

18 Nov 2012

MusculoskeletalNetwork features special coverage of sessions from ACR annual meeting

UBM Medica US announces that MusculoskeletalNetwork features special coverage of sessions from the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), including the latest information about new FDA processes for approval of biosimilars that are like generic versions of expensive medications now used to treat painful rheumatologic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

17 Nov 2012

New insights into how MSCs ‘traffic’ from the circulation into tissues

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), are a newly emerging cellular therapy being tested in approximately 250 clinical trials worldwide to help repair damaged tissues, such as injured heart muscle following a heart attack. The problem is that when culture-expanded MSCs are injected into the circulation, they have trouble gaining access to the inflamed tissues-exactly where their help is needed.

16 Nov 2012

Scientists to develop hydrogels that can be injected into patients to form active biological scaffolds

Smart scaffolding that can guide cells, proteins and small-molecule drugs to make new tissue and repair damage inside the body is in the works at Rice University.

14 Nov 2012

Researchers combine robotics, machine learning and brain imaging to assist infants with CP

Learning to crawl comes naturally for most infants, but those with cerebral palsy lack the muscle strength and coordination to perform the 25 individual movements required for crawling. With a $1.135 million, three-year grant from the National Science Foundation's National Robotics Initiative, University of Oklahoma researchers from the Norman and Health Sciences Center campuses are combining robotics, machine learning and brain imaging to assist infants with CP with the challenging, life-altering skill.

2 Nov 2012

Scientists develop new prototype ultra sensitive disease sensor

Scientists have developed a prototype ultra-sensitive sensor that would enable doctors to detect the early stages of diseases and viruses with the naked eye, according to research published today in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

29 Oct 2012

Article describes most promising strategies for vascularization of bone tissue substitutes

New, advanced techniques are needed that can mimic the normal blood supply that feeds natural bone to improve the viability and success of restorative procedures to replace damaged or diseased bone tissue using engineered constructs. A comprehensive review article describing the most promising strategies for vascularization of bone tissue substitutes is published in Tissue Engineering, Part B: Reviews, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

25 Oct 2012

University of Kentucky to host Makenna Foundation Symposium on Pediatric Pulmonary Disease

The University of Kentucky is hosting the first annual Makenna Foundation Symposium on Pediatric Pulmonary Disease next Friday and Saturday.

20 Oct 2012

Reprogrammed endothelial cells for treatment of vascular disorders

A research team at Weill Cornell Medical College has discovered a way to utilize diagnostic prenatal amniocentesis cells, reprogramming them into abundant and stable endothelial cells capable of regenerating damaged blood vessels and repairing injured organs.

19 Oct 2012

New research lists cell stiffness as possible biomarker for metastatic ovarian cancer

New Georgia Tech research shows that cell stiffness could be a valuable clue for doctors as they search for and treat cancerous cells before they're able to spread. The findings, which are published in the journal PLoS One, found that highly metastatic ovarian cancer cells are several times softer than less metastatic ovarian cancer cells.

11 Oct 2012

New time-resolved multi-frame MRI technique can identify early-stage CAD

With the results of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers say they are closer to finding an imaging technique that can identify thickening of the coronary artery wall, an early stage of coronary heart disease (CAD). The study is published online in the journal Radiology.

9 Oct 2012