Technology
New breast imaging BSGI effective in detection of breast cancersBreast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) is effective in the detection of cancers not found on mammograms or by clinical exam, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
A universal mechanism of aging is identifiedResearchers have discovered that DNA damage decreases a cell's ability to regulate which genes are turned on and off in particular settings. This mechanism, which applies both to fungus and to us, might represent a universal culprit for aging.
Transplant of trachea made from stem cells successfulThe first operation for transplantation of a tissue-engineered airway has been successful. This procedure has massively improved the quality of life of the 30-year-old Colombian female recipient who needed the transplant after contracting tuberculosis.
Birth defects rate high in infants born with assisted reproductive technologyInfants conceived with Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) are two to four times more likely to have certain types of birth defects than children conceived naturally, according to a study by the CDC.
Heart may help power pacemakers, defibrillators in heart patientsSurplus energy generated by the heart may one day help power pacemakers and defibrillators implanted in cardiac patients, according to research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2008.
Purple, high anthocyanin tomatoes offer protection against certain cancersScientists have expressed genes from snapdragon in tomatoes to grow purple tomatoes high in health-protecting anthocyanins.
New genes identified linked to lung cancerWorking as part of a multi-institutional collaboration, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have assembled the most complete catalog to date of the genetic changes underlying the most common form of lung cancer.
X PRIZE to help fight tuberculosis with Gates FoundationThe X PRIZE Foundation has received a planning grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop an X PRIZE for effective diagnosis of tuberculosis in the developing world.
Live cell therapy clinical trial in New Zealand for diabeticsLiving Cell Technologies Limited (ASX: LCT; OTCQX: LVCLY) announced that New Zealand Health Minister, the Honorable David Cunliffe, has approved an application from the company to conduct in New Zealand a Phase I/IIa clinical trial of DiabeCell®, LCT's lead product candidate for the treatment of insulin dependent (Type 1) diabetes.
New drug alemtuzumab for multiple sclerosis patientsA drug which was developed in Cambridge and initially designed to treat a form of leukaemia has also proven effective against combating the debilitating neurological disease multiple sclerosis (MS).
Gut bacteria helps control body weight and obesityA single molecule in the intestinal wall, activated by the waste products from gut bacteria, plays a large role in controlling whether the host animals are lean or fatty, a research team, including scientists from UT Southwestern Medical Center, has found in a mouse study.
Health Canada reaffirms safety of BPA useAnnouncement by Health Canada regarding completion of its assessment of bisphenol A (BPA) offers reassurance to Canadians that the use of this chemical in the production of epoxy resins in metal food and beverage packaging presents no risk to consumers.
Mammograms read by computers will boost cancer detectionA computer can safely replace a medical expert in a revolutionary way of interpreting a breast X-ray – according to a Cancer Research UK funded study.
QIAGEN's careHPV test provides more accurate screeningA new HPV test developed by QIAGEN specifically for use in regions of the world with scarce resources is "substantially" more accurate in identifying women with cervical disease than the current methods (Pap testing and visual inspection) in these countries.
CT colonography a viable colorectal cancer screening optionDeath from colorectal cancer is highly preventable with effective screening and early detection. Many screening options are available, each with advantages and disadvantages, but half of eligible patients still do not participate in colorectal cancer screening.
Skin odor may diagnose skin cancerChemists described the first identification of a specific "odor profile" for skin cancer, a discovery that could form the basis of a rapid, non-invasive test for diagnosing the most common type of cancer in the United States.
BIO welcomes advances in stem cell researchBiotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) President and CEO Jim Greenwood issued the following statement regarding the news that researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute created 20 disease-specific stem cell lines thru the new induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS) technique:
Limit exposure to electromagnetic radiation from cell phonesAn international expert panel of pathologists, oncologists and public health specialists recently declared that electromagnetic fields emitted by cell phones should be considered a potential human health risk.
Broccoli rich diet prevents prostate cancerFor the first time, a UK research group at the Institute of Food Research led by Professor Richard Mithen has provided an explanation of how eating broccoli might reduce cancer risk based upon studies in men, as opposed to trying to extrapolate from animal models.
Brain maps to assist disease diagnosis, brain surgeryResearchers from the Howard Florey Institute in Melbourne are developing new technology to create individualised brain maps that will revolutionise diagnosis of disease like multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease, and enhance the accuracy of brain surgery.
Travelers' diarrhea vaccine skin patch for travelersResearchers at The University of Texas School of Public Health have found that patients given a travelers' diarrhea vaccine were significantly less likely to suffer from clinically significant diarrhea than those who received placebo, according to a study published in this week's edition of The Lancet.
International Cancer Genome Consortium sets sights on cancerThe International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), which includes the Wellcome Trust and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in the UK, will generate a valuable resource enabling the development of new and better ways of diagnosing, treating and preventing cancer.
Contaminant identified in tainted Baxter's heparinAn international team of researchers led by Massachusetts institute of technology (MIT) has explained how contaminated batches of the blood-thinner heparin were able to slip past traditional safety screens and kill dozens of patients recently in the United States and Germany.
Bitter melon for type 2 diabetes patientsScientists have uncovered the therapeutic properties of bitter melon, a vegetable and traditional Chinese medicine, that make it a powerful treatment for Type 2 diabetes.
VereFlu portable lab-on-chip for detection of bird fluFollowing the success of the evaluation trials conducted at the prestigious National University Hospital of Singapore, Veredus Laboratories and STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) announced the commercial availability of VereFlu, a portable lab-on-chip application for rapid detection of all major influenza types at the point of need.
Better care expected from NHS IT programme, UKThe new IT systems in the NHS, UK are on course to deliver better care and an estimated Ł1.14 billion in savings by 2014, according to the first annual Benefits Statement published by the UK Government.
Listening to a cell phone distracts driversCarnegie Mellon University scientists have shown that just listening to a cell phone while driving is a significant distraction, and it causes drivers to commit some of the same types of driving errors that can occur under the influence of alcohol.
Reducing television viewing lowers BMI and obesityUsing a monitoring device to reduce television viewing and computer use time by 50 percent over a two-year period appears to reduce calorie intake, sedentary behavior and body mass index in overweight children age 4 to 7, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
New York unveils electronic health record technologyNew York's Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas R. Frieden unveiled the City's next-generation electronic health records (EHRs), already in use at more than 200 primary-care providers across the city that care for more than 200,000 New Yorkers.
Race differences affect response to drugs and infectionsDifferences in gene expression levels between people of European versus African ancestry can affect how each group responds to certain drugs or fights off specific infections, report researchers from the University of Chicago Medical Center and the Expression Research Laboratory at Affymetrix Inc. of Santa Clara, CA.
Quest Diagnostics & Google provide patients electronic access to their diagnostic laboratory dataUS patients may soon have easy and secure access to their own medical diagnostic laboratory records as a result of a new collaboration between Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), the nation's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, and Google, the world's leading Internet search company.
Clot busting treatment effective if given in 6 hours after a strokeThe study, co-ordinated by the Royal Melbourne Hospital and conducted by the Australasian Stroke Trialists Network including the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) Stroke Research Group demonstrates that clot busting (thrombolysis) treatment can be effective when administered up to six hours after a stroke.
New chemical tool kit reveals insights into drug toxicityWhy do nearly 1 million people taking cholesterol-lowering statins often experience muscle cramps? Why is it that in the rare case when a diabetic takes medication for intestinal worms, his glucose levels improve? Is there any scientific basis for the purported health effects of green tea?
Copper inhibits transmission of hiv through breast milk and bloodResearchers from the U.S. and abroad have developed an inexpensive copper-based filter that may prevent HIV from being passed through breast milk and blood. They report their findings in the February 2008 issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.
Laser to detect potential diseases via breathBy blasting a person's breath with laser light, scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado at Boulder have shown that they can detect molecules that may be markers for diseases like asthma or cancer.
Heavy cell phone users subject to cancersAn Israeli scientist, Dr. Siegal Sadetzki, has found a link between cell phone usage and the development of tumors. Dr. Sadetzki, a physician, epidemiologist and lecturer at Tel Aviv University, published the results of a study recently in the American Journal of Epidemiology, in which she and her colleagues found that heavy cell phone users were subject to a higher risk of benign and malignant tumors of the salivary gland.
Plastic surgeons using laser for wrinkle removal, acne scarring, tattoo removalUT Southwestern Medical Center plastic surgeons are among a handful in the US deploying a new type of laser that goes deeper into the skin to help reduce wrinkles, tighten surface structures and treat pigmentation differences.
Improving the safety testing of chemicalsTesting the safety of chemicals ranging from pesticides to household cleaners will benefit from new technologies and a plan for collaboration, according to federal scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who announced a new toxicity testing agreement.
7 new prostate cancer genetic risk factors identified7 new sites in the human genome identified that are linked to men's risk of developing prostate cancer, revealed by Cancer Research UK funded scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research and University of Cambridge.
DNA sequencing found virus killing transplant recipients in AustraliaIn the first application of high throughput DNA sequencing technology to investigate an infectious disease outbreak, link the discovery of a new arenavirus to the deaths of three transplant recipients who received organs from a single donor in Victoria, Australia in April 2007.
First decellularized heart valve approved in USCryoLife, Inc., (NYSE: CRY) a biomaterials, medical device and tissue processing company, today announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its CryoValve(R) SG pulmonary human heart valve processed with the Company's proprietary SynerGraft technology.
Simple urine test detecting prostate cancer accuratelyAn experimental biomarker test developed by researchers at the University of Michigan more accurately detects prostate cancer than any other screening method currently in use, according to a study published in the February 1 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Research suggests why scratching is so relievingResearchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have uncovered new clues about why scratching may be so relieving – and why it can be hard to stop. This is the first study to use imaging technology to see what goes on in the brain when we scratch.
Changes in X chromosome may lead to mental retardationUniversity of Adelaide geneticist Dr Jozef Gecz and a team of Belgium and UK scientists have achieved a major breakthrough in discovering the causes of intellectual disability. Dr Gecz, a senior researcher who is based at the Women's and Children's Hospital in Adelaide, has collaborated with an international research team to reveal that various mutations of a small part of the X chromosome lead to mental retardation.
Cutting caffeine, coffee, tea may help control diabetesDaily consumption of caffeine in coffee, tea or soft drinks increases blood sugar levels for people with type 2 diabetes and may undermine efforts to control their disease, say scientists at Duke University Medical Center.
Camera in a pill finds early signs of esophageal cancerWhat if swallowing a pill with a camera could detect the earliest signs of cancer? The tiny camera is designed to take high-quality, color pictures in confined spaces. Such a device could find warning signs of esophageal cancer, the fastest growing cancer in the United States.
Manuka honey with natural antibacterial methylglyoxalThe natural compound methylglyoxal is responsible for Manuka Health New Zealand's manuka honey's unique health-giving properties, revealed in a publication by a German university scientist, reported the company.
1000 Genomes Project to support disease studiesAn international research consortium announced the 1000 Genomes Project, an ambitious effort that will involve sequencing the genomes of at least a thousand people from around the world to create the most detailed and medically useful picture to date of human genetic variation.
Heart and stroke death rates steadily decline in USIn an appropriate prelude to American Heart Month, which is just ahead in February, new mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that, since 1999, coronary heart disease and stroke age-adjusted death rates are down by 25.8 percent and 24.4 percent, respectively.
Stem cells may improve muscles in muscular dystrophyUsing embryonic stem cells from mice, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have prompted the growth of healthy - and more importantly, functioning - muscle cells in mice afflicted with a human model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The study represents the first time transplanted embryonic stem cells have been shown to restore function to defective muscles in a model of muscular dystrophy.