Technology & Society
I’m always a bit skeptical of such feel good articles when this is just an announcement about a test, but according to the UK’s Daily Mail, “The treatment, which will be tested on British patients over the next few months,
According to the UK Times: “Scientists have discovered the “Methuselah” genes whose lucky carriers have a much improved chance of living to 100 even if they indulge in an unhealthy lifestyle. The genes appear to protect people against the effects
From CNET News: “This month, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research (IFAM) in Bremen, Germany, are unveiling a new type of screw that not only biodegrades within two years but actually encourages bone growth
Scientists have been experimenting with “printing” various types of human tissue for years now, often using their own tricked-out devices. The Economist has a great article on a company that is now making printers specifically for this purpose. In addition,
This is an excellent video of Anthony Atala of the Wake Forest Regenerative Medicine center. Regrowing organs is a therapy that has already been done in test cases and isn’t too far away from becoming mainstream.
The Personalized Medicine World Conference in Silicon Valley last week showcased huge opportunities for new advances in medicine and personalized health. What remained unclear was who will take the lead, what techniques or products will win, and whether the medical
From the Scientist: “Newly created synthetic particles that mimic red blood cells may one day carry drug molecules and/or oxygen through bloodstreams, according to researchers writing in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Using nanotech to target cancer cells is an idea that’s been in the works for a while. A team “led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has just successfully combined an antibody with single-walled nanotubes to create
This is a fabulous demonstration of how stem cells were used to grow cheek bones for a boy born without them due to a genetic condition. As with many stem cell procedures, the stem cells were injected into a scaffold
“I could make a mouse that has your liver. That’s incredibly valuable,” said stem cell researcher Stephen A. Duncan (at the Medical College of Wisconsin). That’s an impressive claim, and it’s based on newly released data from his lab that
Researchers led by Irina Conboy at UC Berkeley have completed some very interesting research on human muscle. Essentially, they found that it is possible to regenerate old human muscle by activating an enzyme called mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). MAPK regulates
14 genomes were sequenced for about $4000. That’s down from the $250,000 that it used to cost. Pretty cool. From the Mercury news: “Complete Genomics, a Mountain View startup, announced Tuesday that it had deciphered 14 full human genomes for
From Scientific American. “Telomeres consist of up to 3,300 repeats of the DNA sequence TTAGGG. They protect chromosome ends from being mistaken for broken pieces of DNA that would otherwise be fixed by cellular repair machinery. But every time our
When this hits the market, it is going to be big. “Applying nanosheets with poly-L-lactide (PLLA) to the incisions of mouse stomachs, the team found that these centimeter-long biodegradable nanosheets healed the incisions without scarring or tissue adhesion.”
From the Scientist (ht to James Clement): “Scientists have met one of the long-standing challenges of regenerative medicine: For the first time, they have succeeded in coaxing an injured spinal cord to regenerate sensory axons in rats that reinnervate the
For those interested in longevity, July was a good news month. Recently published research in the journal Science shows that caloric restriction helps monkeys live longer and healthier, while a parallel study demonstrated the possibility that a drug could mimic
Here’s the paper everyone has been buzzing about for the last few days (press release). Monkeys who ate a lower calorie, yet nutritious diet, lived longer than those who ate more. These results were expected, and it will be interesting
Like Resveratrol, the thinking is that Rapamycin mimics caloric restriction. Here’s the summary from Nature: “On the basis of age at 90% mortality, rapamycin led to an increase of 14% for females and 9% for males….To our knowledge, these are
This is a great video on growing human organs and how such procedures will extend life. Oprah’s Dr. Oz does a good job interviewing the experts at Wake Forest University.
This is a fantastic step towards healing heart damage. “Doctors at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute announced the completion of the first procedure in which a patient’s own heart tissue was used to grow specialized heart stem cells that were then