Bioengineering News and Research

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Researchers create device to find ways to improve commonly used treatment for 'water on the brain'

Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) scientists participated in a study with researchers from the University of Utah that could help find ways to improve shunt systems used to treat the neurological disorder hydrocephalus, or "water on the brain," the leading cause of brain surgery for children in the United States. Researchers studied the shunt systems under a variety of conditions by creating a bioreactor that mimics the environment inside patients.

24 Sep 2010

Cardiovascular Innovation Institute awarded NIH grant to develop implantable pump for single ventricle heart disease

Researchers in the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute, a partnership between the University of Louisville and Jewish Hospital, in collaboration with researchers at Indiana University and Purdue University, have received a $2,027,059 grant from the National Institutes of Health to further develop an implantable pump that could dramatically improve the lives of patients with single ventricle heart disease.

23 Sep 2010

NIH awards UCSF $15.4 million to set up new National Center for Systems Biology

Cell biologists at UCSF have received $15.4 million from the National Institutes of Health to set up one of two new National Centers for Systems Biology, to study how cells respond to their environment - an emerging field of research that could revolutionize medicine by creating "smart cells" to deliver medications and other therapeutics more effectively.

22 Sep 2010

Scientists develop computer model to examine genetic switch for TB dormancy

An examination of a portion of the tuberculosis genome that responds to stress has allowed Rice University bioengineers Oleg Igoshin and Abhinav Tiwari to zero in on a network of genes that may "switch" the disease into dormancy.

18 Sep 2010

China-Biotics files two new patent applications

China-Biotics, Inc., the leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of probiotics products in China, today announced that it has submitted two new patent applications to the State Bureau of Intellect Property.

17 Sep 2010

NIH awards QuantaLife $6 million to build platform for detecting MRSA infections

QuantaLife, a new life science tool company developing the third generation of PCR, has received an NIH grant totaling ~$6 million over 5 years for the development of rapid, cost-effective technology for detecting methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. The grant, from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), part of the National Institutes of Health, will fund the project.

14 Sep 2010

UC Denver researcher awarded NIH grant to study PAH

A disease that has no cure in young children and adults is getting closer attention, thanks to a University of Colorado Denver Bioengineering assistant professor and a five year National Heart Lung and Blood Institute/National Institutes of Health grant. Kendall Hunter, PhD, will perform research to improve the diagnosis and prognosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension in children and adults with approximately $700,000 over a five-year period.

10 Sep 2010

Researchers develop new RNA molecule approach to kill cancer cells

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have engineered a fundamentally new approach to killing cancer cells. The process developed by Niles Pierce, associate professor of applied and computational mathematics and bioengineering at Caltech, and his colleagues uses small RNA molecules that can be programmed to attack only specific cancer cells then, by changing shape, those molecules cause the cancer cells to self destruct.

8 Sep 2010

UCSF scientists to receive two grants for personalized medicine research

UCSF scientists will receive two grants totaling $15.1 million over the next five years to expand their research into how genes affect an individual's response to medication and to strengthen a global network of researchers involved in these efforts.

7 Sep 2010

Researchers decode words from brain signals in paralyzed people

In an early step toward letting severely paralyzed people speak with their thoughts, University of Utah researchers translated brain signals into words using two grids of 16 microelectrodes implanted beneath the skull but atop the brain. "We have been able to decode spoken words using only signals from the brain with a device that has promise for long-term use in paralyzed patients who cannot now speak," says Bradley Greger, an assistant professor of bioengineering.

7 Sep 2010

Researchers unveil prototype model of first implantable artificial kidney

UCSF researchers today unveiled a prototype model of the first implantable artificial kidney, in a development that one day could eliminate the need for dialysis.

3 Sep 2010

Naringenin from grape fruits initiates increased fatty acid oxidation, inhibits vLDL production

Naringenin, an antioxidant derived from the bitter flavor of grapefruits and other citrus fruits, may cause the liver to break down fat while increasing insulin sensitivity, a process that naturally occurs during long periods of fasting.

26 Aug 2010

Researchers develop new instrumentation to simplify testing patients for infectious diseases

Arizona State University researchers have demonstrated a way to dramatically simplify testing patients for infectious diseases and unhealthy protein levels.New testing instrumentation developed by Antonia Garcia and John Schneider promises to make the procedure less costly and produce results in less time.

24 Aug 2010

Fluid dynamics and mechanics to simulate stent design and coating

Suncica "Sunny" Canic was good at math in school, so that's what she pursued as a career. But she always liked medicine, too. When she moved to Houston, Texas, and met some cardiologists at a party, she started talking with them about what they do-and knew she could help them.

23 Aug 2010

Cluster-coated implant strengthens attachment of joint-replacement implant with bone

Researchers have developed an improved coating technique that could strengthen the connection between titanium joint-replacement implants and a patients' own bone. The stronger connection created by manipulating signals the body's own cells use to encourage growth could allow the implants to last longer.

19 Aug 2010

Rice receives Defense Threat Reduction Agency grant to develop genomic test for cultivated pathogens

Researchers at Rice University have won federal support to develop a genomic test that can quickly determine whether a disease outbreak is caused by a natural pathogen or one that was grown in a lab by terrorists.

17 Aug 2010

NSF awards Georgia Institute of Technology $3 million for stem cell bio-manufacturing research program

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $3 million to the Georgia Institute of Technology to fund a unique research program on stem cell bio-manufacturing. The program is specifically focused on developing engineering methods for stem cell production, in order to meet the anticipated demand for stem cells. The award comes through the NSF's Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) Program, which supports innovation in graduate education in fields that cross academic disciplines and have broad societal impact.

17 Aug 2010

New scaffold supports growth, integration of stem cell-derived cardiac muscle cells

These days people usually don't die from a heart attack. But the damage to heart muscle is irreversible, and most patients eventually succumb to congestive heart failure, the most common cause of death in developed countries.Stem cells now offer hope for achieving what the body can't do: mending broken hearts. Engineers and physicians at the University of Washington have built a scaffold that supports the growth and integration of stem cell-derived cardiac muscle cells. A description of the scaffold, which supports the growth of cardiac cells in the lab and encourages blood vessel growth in living animals, is published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

10 Aug 2010

AOBO to launch Yin Yang balancing medication Pai Du Qing Zhi Tablet

American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc., a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving health through the development, manufacture and commercialization of a broad range of prescription and over the counter products, today announced that its Boke brand Pai Du Qing Zhi Tablet, a prescription medicine aimed at achieving the balance of Yin Yang by regulating metabolism, in order to cleanse the blood and detoxify, dispose of hemorrhoids, fight obesity and lower hyperlipemia, will be commercially launched in the third quarter of 2010.

9 Aug 2010

AOBO announces commercial launch of osteoporosis drug Yi Shen Jian Gu Gel

American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc., a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving health through the development, manufacture and commercialization of a broad range of prescription and over the counter ("OTC") products, today announced the commercial launch of Boke brand Yi Shen Jian Gu Gel ("YSJG" Gel) after successful test marketing in the second quarter of 2010.