Archive for the ‘biotech/medical’ category: Page 2116
Dec 2, 2018
Cafe in Japan Hires Paralyzed People to Control Robot Servers
Posted by Sean Cusack in categories: biotech/medical, habitats, robotics/AI
The OriHime-D can also be used by people involved in childcare, nursing care or other activities that prevent them from leaving home or a certain location.
A cafe with an all-robot staff controlled by paralyzed people has opened in Tokyo.
Continue reading “Cafe in Japan Hires Paralyzed People to Control Robot Servers” »
Dec 2, 2018
Proton beam failure leaves hundreds of child cancer patients at risk
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: biotech/medical, government
Hundreds of children with cancer are resorting to inferior treatment because of a failure to open two flagship specialist centres, experts have warned.
NHS officials have admitted that no patient has yet received state-of-the-art proton beam therapy (PBT) at either its new London or Manchester sites, despite a Government pledge to be treating 1,500 a year by 2018.
Leading oncologists have called for transparency after two promised opening dates at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust were missed this year and the deadline quietly pushed back.
Continue reading “Proton beam failure leaves hundreds of child cancer patients at risk” »
Dec 2, 2018
Researchers develop painless method to evaluate tumor progression
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: biotech/medical, genetics
NANJING — Chinese researchers have developed a new evaluating model using medical imaging to help painlessly evaluate tumor progression in patients.
Doctors usually use the biological characteristics of tumors to observe the progress and response to treatment, such as if there are gene mutations or malignant features. Previous studies have shown that identifying the biological characteristics may contribute to better treatment and may increase survival rates.
Traditional methods to get tumor tissue include surgery and puncture, which are invasive, painful and costly.
Continue reading “Researchers develop painless method to evaluate tumor progression” »
Dec 2, 2018
Untangling the Origin of String Theory
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: biotech/medical, quantum physics
In the summer of 1968, while a visitor in CERN’s theory division, Gabriele Veneziano wrote a paper titled “Construction of a crossing-symmetric, Regge behaved amplitude for linearly-rising trajectories”. He was trying to explain the strong interaction, but his paper wound up marking the beginning of string theory.
Dec 2, 2018
Gene editing not on the agenda as University of Hong Kong and Harvard join forces in bid to make disease detection faster, easier and smarter
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical
Two institutions collaborate for first time in setting up new laboratory in Hong KongFocus will be on inventing means of improving diagnosis of diseases so treatment can start earlier.
Dec 2, 2018
Over 6,000 antibiotic resistance genes found in bacteria that inhabit the gut
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: biotech/medical
Researchers have identified over 6,000 antibiotic resistance genes found in bacteria that inhabit the human gut, which is home to trillions of micro-organisms, mainly bacteria.
“Most gut bacteria live in a harmless relationship with the human host. However, the gut is also home to bacteria that can cause infections in hospitalised patients,” said one of the researchers Willem van Schaik, Professor at the University of Birmingham.
“Unfortunately, these bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics and we need to understand the processes that contribute to this development,” he added.
Continue reading “Over 6,000 antibiotic resistance genes found in bacteria that inhabit the gut” »
Dec 2, 2018
Precision genome engineering
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics
Biotechnology
Genome editing through CRISPR-Cas systems has the potential to correct genetic mutations that occur in diseased cells, such as cancer cells. However, the ability to selectively activate CRISPR-Cas systems in diseased cells is important to ensure that gene editing only occurs where it is wanted. Zhu et al. developed a system whereby gene editing could be activated by a magnetic field, thus allowing spatial control. The use of nanomagnets in their system also improved transduction into target cells in tumor-bearing mouse models. This approach could potentially allow the translation of CRISPR-Cas systems into therapeutic agents.
Nat. Biomed. Eng. 10.1038/s41551-018‑0318-7 (2018).
Dec 2, 2018
Universal flu vaccine remains ‘an alchemist’s dream’
Posted by Derick Lee in category: biotech/medical
In theory, a universal flu vaccine would work if it contained parts of the virus that remained the same from year to year, the so-called conserved epitopes that make the pathogen less viable if they change. But no one has yet found the viral pieces capable of stimulating an immune response that stops most flu viruses afflicting humans.
A rapidly changing virus and a complex immune response stymie developers.
Dec 1, 2018
This ‘Cube’ Lets You Experience the Earth’s Most Extreme Conditions
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: biotech/medical
From blizzards on top of Mount Everest to the extreme cold of the Arctic to the scorching heat of the Sahara deserts, researchers can now recreate the Earth’s most extreme climates and conditions — all in one place.
The research infrastructure, terraXcube, which opened to the public in Bolzano, South Tryol, Italy, on November 30, can simulate the world’s most extreme climate and weather conditions. It can recreate environmental factors such as air pressure, air humidity, and solar radiation individually or in combination, enabling researchers to investigate how the human body reacts to various extreme climatic conditions.