Category: biotech/medical – Page 1,996
Hospital on a chip
Circa 2009
The researchers expect to have a working prototype of the product in four years. “We are just at the beginning of this project,” Wang said. “During the first two years, our primary focus will be on the sensor systems. Integrating enzyme logic onto electrodes that can read biomarker inputs from the body will be one of our first major challenges.”
“Achieving the goal of the program is estimated to take nearly a decade,” Chrisey said.
Developing an effective interface between complex physiological processes and wearable devices could have a broader impact, Wang said. If the researchers are successful, they could pave the way for “autonomous, individual, on-demand medical care, which is the goal of the new field of personalized medicine,” he added.
Turkey to Add More Advanced Drone to Fleet That Has Swung Wars
‘’Baykar says the Akinci, Turkish for “raider,” can attack targets in the air and on the ground, and operate alongside fighter jets, flying higher and staying in the air longer than Turkey’s existing pilotless planes. The drones will carry a range of missiles developed by Turkey’s Roketsan.’’
Hospitals in U.S. South Run Low on Oxygen Amid Covid, Storm.
Calling Through the DNA Wire: A Newly Discovered Genetic “Switch”
Proteins can communicate through DNA, conducting a long-distance dialogue that serves as a kind of genetic “switch,” according to Weizmann Institute of Science researchers. They found that the binding of proteins to one site of a DNA molecule can physically affect another binding site at a distant location, and that this “peer effect” activates certain genes. This effect had previously been observed in artificial systems, but the Weizmann study is the first to show it takes place in the DNA of living organisms.
A team headed by Dr. Hagen Hofmann of the Chemical and Structural Biology Department made this discovery while studying a peculiar phenomenon in the soil bacteria Bacillus subtilis. A small minority of these bacteria demonstrate a unique skill: an ability to enrich their genomes by taking up bacterial gene segments scattered in the soil around them. This ability depends on a protein called ComK, a transcription factor, which binds to the DNA to activate the genes that make the scavenging possible. However, it was unknown how exactly this activation works.
Two die in Japan after shots from suspended Moderna vaccines
TOKYO, Aug 28 (Reuters) — Two people died after receiving Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) COVID-19 vaccine shots that were among lots later suspended following the discovery of contaminants, Japan’s health ministry said on Saturday.
The men in their 30s died this month within days of receiving their second Moderna doses, the ministry said in a release. Each had a shot from one of three manufacturing lots suspended on Thursday. The causes of death are being investigated.
A vision-based robotic system for 3D ultrasound imaging
Ultrasound imaging techniques have proved to be highly valuable tools for diagnosing a variety of health conditions, including peripheral artery disease (PAD). PAD, one of the most common diseases among the elderly, entails the blocking or narrowing of peripheral blood vessels, which limits the supply of blood to specific areas of the body.
Ultrasound imaging methods are among the most popular means of diagnosing PAD, due to their many advantageous characteristics. In fact, unlike other imaging methods, such as computed tomography angiography and magnetic resonance angiography, ultrasound imaging is non-invasive, low-cost and radiation-free.
Most existing ultrasound imaging techniques are designed to capture two-dimensional images in real time. While this can be helpful in some cases, their inability to collect three-dimensional information reduces the reliability of the data they gather, increasing their sensitivity to variations in how individual physicians used a given technique.
Engineer Builds His Own X-Ray After Hospital Charges Him $69K
Almost a third of working Americans are in some form of medical debt, with nearly a quarter of those with an outstanding balance owing $10,000 or more. Many Americans feel anxious about health care costs and are depleting their own savings to pay the bills, or avoiding going to the doctor due to the cost, and in some cases, as in the case of William Osman, embarking on bizarre projects to highlight the issue.
The YouTuber and engineer, who is known for his bizarre projects that combine engineering and entertainment, posted a video last week outlining how a recent hospital visit requiring X-rays resulted in a staggering $69,210.32 bill.
He explains that, thanks to his health insurance policy, he will only have to pay roughly $2,500, and that, when combined with annual insurance costs, the total will be around $8,500. In a comedic sequence, he laments, “I’m a slave to medical debt now. I have to sell all my things, I have to sell my friends’ belongings.” Then, he embarks on an extremely reckless and risky endeavor to build his own fully functional X-ray machine for less than the cost of his actual medical expenses.
Injected hydrogel could help regenerate damaged cartilage in joints
A new hydrogel could help improve the treatment of damaged cartilage in knees and other joints. The unique properties of the gel, which provides a scaffold for cartilage cells to grow on, allow it to be implanted via keyhole surgery.
“We will start human trials soon,” says Qiuning Lin at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China.