Bioengineering News and Research

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First molecular-scale images of DNA binding to an adenovirus enzyme

The images, which appear on the cover of the October 2004 issue of Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, show how binding to DNA may stimulate the enzyme and are already being used to design new antiviral drugs to block this interaction.

14 Sep 2004

New Zealand initiative to widen biotech industry

An initiative aimed at addressing the need for well-rounded, enterprise-savvy biotech scientists in New Zealand, will be launched at The University of Auckland next week.

10 Sep 2004

Surgeons remodel and replace man's jaw bone allowing him to eat first dinner in 9 years

“By the 4th week post-transplantation the patient enjoyed his first dinner in 9 years (bread and sausages); before reconstruction he had only been able to eat soft food and soup”.

26 Aug 2004

Successful resuscitation rates doubled after upgrade to automated external defibrillators

Successful resuscitation rates more than doubled after the Atlanta VA Medical Center instituted a program of upgrading existing defibrillators and placing automated external defibrillators (AEDs) throughout the hospital, while also educating staff, according to a new study in the Aug. 18, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

18 Aug 2004

Not only has life evolved, but life has evolved to evolve

That's the conclusion drawn by two Rice University scientists who have designed a computer simulation to test the idea that evolvability — the likelihood of genetic mutation — is a trait that can itself be favored or disfavored through the process of natural selection.

11 Aug 2004

Light-sensitive probe to help doctors spot breast cancer

A light-sensitive probe is being developed to help doctors spot breast cancer in some of the 70,000 American women each year whose malignancies fail to show up in needle biopsies.

26 Jul 2004

Animal bone implants that resemble natural bone

A team of researchers at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) has moved one step closer to developing an ideal bone scaffold for reconstructive surgery.

15 Jul 2004

New technology acts as third eye during breast biopsies

Doctors currently use X-ray or ultrasound - two-dimensional pictures - to guide the biopsy needle into a three-dimensional region. To ensure that they are doing the biopsy at the right spot, they take up to a dozen tissue samples.

7 Jul 2004

ASU and Mayo Clinic collaborate on a new joint nursing program

ASU and Mayo Clinic have reached an agreement to collaborate on a new joint nursing program based at Mayo Clinic Hospital in northeast Phoenix.

2 Jul 2004

New company is developing advanced therapeutics for stroke victims

Arizona Engineered Therapeutics Inc., a new company based on the research of three Arizona State University professors, is moving its first drug candidate closer to clinical trials.

26 May 2004

Sensing device that when implanted in the mouth can detect hydration levels in soldiers

Working with a $729,000 grant from the U.S. Army, Porter and a team of undergraduate and graduate students have developed a sensing device that when implanted in the mouth can detect hydration levels in soldiers. It can also monitor toxins and, used in a hand-held device, could be used to detect nerve agents.

18 May 2004

Researchers awarded $5 million to develop a pediatric heart assist device

Penn State researchers recently were awarded a $5 million contract from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health to develop a pediatric heart assist device.

11 May 2004

New device - the anthrax smoke detector

A new device, nicknamed "the anthrax smoke detector,' which relies on technology developed by JPL and Caltech scientists, may serve as a first line of defense against acts of bioterrorism.

6 May 2004

Kodak forms JV with NZ researchers for world’s first non-invasive digital imaging breast screening technique

The multi-national Eastman Kodak Company is forming a joint venture company with researchers at the University of Canterbury, to develop the world’s first non-invasive digital imaging breast screening technique.

6 May 2004

Researchers are pioneering regenerative medicine techniques that could help millions of Americans heal faster after dental surgeries

More than 10 million Americans undergo surgical tooth extractions every year, and the procedure invariably involves some loss of bone from the tooth socket. This bone loss is problematic for dentists because it can compromise both the functional and esthetic outcomes of treatment involving dentures and bridges. Significant losses of bone also make it difficult for surgeons to properly fit dental implants to the ridge of the jawbone without requiring additional surgical procedures.

28 Apr 2004

$4.5 million contract to develop heart assist devices for infants

The University of Pittsburgh's McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine has been awarded a five-year $4.5 million contract from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to develop a heart assist device for infants.

28 Apr 2004

Two recent innovations look set to revolutionize biomedical treatment.

The first innovation is probably the world’s first multiple drug-eluting biodegradable stent for use in any part of the body where fluid flow, including blood, is disrupted.

19 Apr 2004

Discovery of gender difference in cartilage cells may help spinal disc repair

When biologist Barbara Boyan discovered science’s first proof of biochemical differences between male and female cartilage cells, she began to question the approaches she and other researchers were taking to study cells. Was their thinking biologically relevant?

30 Mar 2004

Embryonic stem cells attached to a gel matrix instead of suspended in solution

30 Mar 2004

New storage method amplifies cells available for science

Like many other kinds of cells used in biomedical research, human embryonic stem cells are stored and transported in a cryopreserved state, frozen to -320 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature of their liquid nitrogen storage bath. But when scientists thaw the cells for use in the lab, less than 1 percent awake from their frigid slumber and assume their undifferentiated state. This 'blank slate' form is characteristic of stem cells and essential for the basic science required before the promising cells are ready for the clinic.

30 Mar 2004