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New role for the blood protein serum amyloid P in the body's response to medical materials

Using a technique called proteomics, the researchers identified many of the blood proteins that stick (adsorb) to the surfaces of medical devices. Blood proteins that adsorb to the surfaces of materials unfold and can be recognized by the body, which then mounts a response against the device.

5 Oct 2005

Microtubules critical to development of mental disorders

Neuroscientists at the University at Buffalo have shown in two recently published papers that destabilization of structures called microtubules, intracellular highways that transport receptors to their working sites in the brain, likely underlie many mental disorders and could be promising targets for intervention.

12 Sep 2005

Carbon nanotubes may change the way doctors treat broken bones

Scientists have shown for the first time that carbon nanotubes make an ideal scaffold for the growth of bone tissue. The new technique could change the way doctors treat broken bones, allowing them to simply inject a solution of nanotubes into a fracture to promote healing.

11 Jul 2005

New Calcitonin drug delivery research holds promise for osteoporosis sufferers

Calcitonin, a hormone that lowers calcium levels in the blood and prevents bone loss, has only been available in an injectable and nasally-administered format to date.

1 Jun 2005

Russian team tests new polymeric coating for vascular stents

A group of researchers of the Institute of Biophysics (Russian Academy of Sciences), Krasnoyarsk regional clinical hospital and Krasnoyarsk regional department of morbid anatomy under the guidance of .I. Gitelzon, Academician of Russian Academy of Sciences, have tested characteristics of a new polymeric coating for vascular stents.

22 May 2005

Two-sided coating could breathe life into medical implants

By mimicking an adhesive protein secreted by mussels and a polymer that repels cells and proteins, researchers at Northwestern University have designed a versatile new two-sided coating that could breathe life into medical implants.

15 May 2005

Antimicrobial soaps may expose consumers to significant quantities of chloroform

Researchers at Virginia Tech have discovered that the use of antimicrobial soaps and other products may unnecessarily be directly exposing consumers to significant quantities of chloroform.

12 Apr 2005

ARC Pharmaceuticals granted new U.S. patent

ARC Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ARC) announced today that The University of British Columbia (UBC) has been granted a new US patent entitled "Pharmaceutical Compositions and Methods Relating to Fucans, No. 6,812,220.

7 Apr 2005

Nano-sized particles enable researchers to visualize a tumor using only infrared light

Nano-sized particles embedded with bright, light-emitting molecules have enabled researchers to visualize a tumor more than one centimeter below the skin surface using only infrared light.

7 Feb 2005

New method of delivery of gene therapy may lead to safer treatment for cancer

The Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR) announced that in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) they have performed preclinical proof-of- principle studies showing how nanotechnology can be used to enhance gene therapy for cancer.

25 Jan 2005

Biodegradable mosquito trap - latest weapon against the spread of dengue fever

University of Queensland researchers are working with a biodegradable packaging business, < Plantic>, James Cook University and Queensland Health to design and produce the traps.

18 Jan 2005

Honeycomb-like polymer implant helps re-build the faces of children

British and Russian surgeons are using a revolutionary honeycomb-like polymer implant to help re-build the faces of children injured in accidents or born with serious defects. The material bonds with bone without causing adverse reactions.

12 Jan 2005

Novel approach to bioengineer artificial skin for burn victims

Each year more than 45,000 Americans suffer burns serious enough to require a hospital stay, according to the American Burn Association. While the traditional therapy of using skin grafts to cover burn sites has improved, a number of problems including scarring, infection and poor adhesion remain.

4 Jan 2005

New DNA sequence translation device

Chemists at New York University have developed a device that allows for the translation of DNA sequences, thereby serving as a factory for assembling the building blocks of new materials.

21 Dec 2004

Biological clock affects the patterns of heart-rate control in healthy individuals

In a newly reported, first-ever finding, physicists from Boston University and physiologists from Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) have found that the body’s biological clock affects the patterns of heart-rate control in healthy individuals independent of sleep/wake cycle or other behavior influences.

21 Dec 2004

Wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) could help produce lead drugs for disease therapy

Structural changes in proteins can now be seen in increased detail, using a new application of an existing technique. The application, developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, could help produce lead drugs for disease therapy.

8 Dec 2004

Scene-of-the-crime DNA analysis is moving a step closer

Currently DNA analysis is both time-consuming and expensive, but researchers at the Polymer Electronics Research Centre (PERC), within the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, hope to change that by inventing a system that provides direct, real-time detection of DNA.

4 Dec 2004

Scientists create world’s smallest test tube

Oxford scientists have made it into the Guinness Book of World Records by making the world’s smallest test tube – so tiny that around 300 billion would fit onto a full stop on this page.

24 Nov 2004

World’s strongest acid may have a role in synthesizing pharmaceuticals

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have discovered the world’s strongest acid. Remarkably it is also the gentlest acid. This non-toxic and non-corrosive acid may have a role in processes such as improving the quality of gasoline, developing polymers and synthesizing pharmaceuticals.

16 Nov 2004