Medical
Using VR to transform cancer education in Africa
Using virtual reality technology, Vertual (a University of Hull-based company) is helping to transform the quality of cancer education in Africa.
Mapping the brain to develop brain-computer interfaces
The EU-funded COLUMNARCODECRACKING project has successfully used ultra-high fMRI scanners to map cortical columns, a process that opens the door to exciting new applications, such as brain-computer interfaces. Cortical columnar-level fMRI has already contributed and will further contribute to a deeper understanding of how the brain and mind work by zooming into the fine-grained functional organisation within specialised brain areas.
Learning to program cellular memory
What if we could program living cells to do what we would like them to do in the body? Having such control could allow for the development of cell-based therapies that might one day replace traditional drugs for diseases such as cancer. In order to reach this long-term goal, however, scientists must first learn to program many of the key things that cells do, such as communicate with one another, change their fate to become a particular cell type...
Health monitor tracks parameters from an iPhone case
Azoi Inc., a company dedicated to providing real-time affordable and clinically accurate vital monitoring products, has announced the UK launch of Kito+. Kito+ is an innovative health monitoring device, which fits in to a custom designed iPhone case, offering immediate access to health tracking at home, in the office or on the move.
Getting closer to using beer hops to fight disease
Hops, those little cone-shaped buds that give beer its bitter flavor, pack a surprisingly healthful punch. They are widely studied for their ability to halt bacterial growth and disease. Now, researchers report that they are close to synthesising the healthful hops compounds in the lab. This advance could one day help scientists create medicines from these compounds without having to extract them from plants.
Spongy material helps repair the spine
Remember those colorful "grow capsules" that blossom into animal-shaped sponges in water? Using a similar idea, scientists have developed biodegradable polymer grafts that, when surgically placed in damaged vertebrae, should grow to be just the right size and shape to fix the spinal column. The researchers present their work at the 251st National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
Wearable modular device to facilitate walking rehabilitation
In collaboration with Suncall Corporation, and with support provided by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) under the Center of Innovation (COI) Program, Professor Tadao Tsuboyama of the Graduate School of Medicine and his collaborators have recently succeeded in developing an "Attached Robotic Unit Knee-Ankle-Foot Orthothesis", a modular wearable walking assist device designed to aid the rehabilitation of people with walking difficulti...
Vibration technology offers alternative to MRI
Magnetic resonance image isn't everything. A new University of Alberta study shows that vibrating the spine may reveal more when it comes to treating back pain. Teaming with the University of South Denmark to study the lumbar spine of twins, Greg Kawchuk and his team demonstrate that structural changes within the spine alter its vibration response significantly.
Ultra-sensitive test can detect cancers and HIV faster
A common theme in medicine is that detecting a disease early on can lead to more effective treatments. This relies partly on luck that the patient gets screened at the right time, but more important is that the testing techniques are sensitive enough to register the minuscule hints that diseases leave in the blood stream.
Rice scientists synthesise anti-cancer agent
A team led by Rice University synthetic organic chemist K.C. Nicolaou has developed a new process for the synthesis of a series of potent anti-cancer agents originally found in bacteria. The Nicolaou lab finds ways to replicate rare, naturally occurring compounds in larger amounts so they can be studied by biologists and clinicians as potential new medications. It also seeks to fine-tune the molecular structures of these compounds through analog ...