Futurity.org » biomedical engineering

From stem cells, grow patch to heal infant heart

Mike Williams-Rice — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:39:50 +0000

RICE (US) — Researchers have turned stem cells from amniotic fluid into cells that form blood vessels—a step toward patches to repair infants’ hearts.

“We want to come up with technology to replace defective tissue with beating heart tissue made from stem cells sloughed off by the infant into the amniotic fluid,” says Rice University bioengineer Jeffrey Jacot, who led the study.

Use liquid lasers to find cancer genes

Nicole Casal Moore-Michigan — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:17:31 +0000

U. MICHIGAN (US) — A new technique could offer a better way to detect the slight genetic mutations that might predispose a person to a particular type of cancer or other diseases.

Researchers at the University of Michigan say using liquid lasers works much better than the current approach, which uses fluorescent dye and other biological molecules to find and bind to mutated DNA strands.

Portable device to detect disease in 30 minutes

Bill Steele-Cornell — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:03:46 +0000

CORNELL (US) — Researchers are developing a small detector designed to quickly identify pathogens such as tuberculosis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and HIV.

Dan Luo, professor of biological and environmental engineering at Cornell University, has devised a method of “amplifying” very small samples of pathogen DNA, RNA, or proteins using synthetic DNA. His colleague Edwin Kan, professor of electrical and computer engineering, designed a computer chip that quickly responds to the amplified samples targeted by Luo’s method.

Medical sensor powered by rap music?

Emil Venere-Purdue — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:14:41 +0000

PURDUE (US) — The driving bass rhythm of rap can be used to power a new miniature medical sensor designed to be implanted in the body.

Acoustic waves from music, particularly rap, were found to effectively recharge the pressure sensor. Such a device might ultimately help to treat people stricken with aneurisms or incontinence due to paralysis.

Diabetes: Device checks saliva, not blood

Richard Lewis-Brown — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:14:28 +0000

BROWN (US) — A new technique to measure glucose in saliva could eliminate the need for diabetics to draw blood to check blood sugar levels.

The biochip developed by engineers at Brown University uses plasmonic interferometers and could be employed to measure a range of biological and environmental substances.

Carbon fibers yield graphene quantum dots

Mike Williams-Rice — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:54:22 +0000

RICE (US) — Scientists have developed a one-step chemical process to turn carbon fibers into graphene quantum dots.

The Rice University researchers say the new method is markedly simpler than established techniques for making graphene quantum dots—tiny specks of matter expected to prove useful in electronic, optical, and biomedical applications.

Device spots melanoma cell by cell

Steven Adams-Missouri — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:27:28 +0000

U. MISSOURI (US) — A new photoacoustic device will detect melanoma long before tumors develop, say researchers.

Early detection of melanoma, the most aggressive skin cancer, is critical because melanoma will spread rapidly throughout the body.

Lasers track nanotubes in living cells

Emil Venere-Purdue — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:21:07 +0000

PURDUE (US) — A new imaging tool that tracks carbon nanotubes in living cells and the bloodstream could advance their use for biomedical research and clinical medicine.

The structures have potential applications in drug delivery to treat diseases and imaging for cancer research. Two types of nanotubes are created in the manufacturing process: metallic and semiconducting. Until now, however, there has been no technique to see both types in living cells and the bloodstream.

Nano wrinkles create tiny pipes

Richard Lewis-Brown — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:12:32 +0000

BROWN (US) — Wrinkles and folds, common in nature, do something unusual at the nanoscale.

Researchers have discovered that wrinkles created on super-thin films have hidden long waves that lengthen even when the film is compressed. The team also discovered that when folds are formed in such films, closed nanochannels appear below the surface, like thousands of super-tiny pipes.The research could lead to advances in medicine, electronics, and energy.

Fuse DNA, nanotubes for better biosensors

Brian Wallheimer-Purdue — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:07:03 +0000

PURDUE (US) — A new method for stacking synthetic DNA and carbon nanotubes onto a biosensor electrode may lead to more accurate ways to measure and manage diseases, such as diabetes.

Standard sensors employ metal electrodes coated with enzymes that react with compounds and produce an electrical signal that can be measured, but their inefficiency can lead to imperfect measurements.