A short exposure to an alternating magnetic field might someday replace multiple surgeries and weeks of IV antibiotics as treatment for stubborn infections on artificial joints, new research suggests. Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have shown that high-frequency alternating magnetic fields – the same principle used in induction cooktops – can be used to destroy bacteria that are encased in a slimy “biofilm” growing on a metal surface. The biofilm is a collection of microorganis...

NASA's Journey to Mars requires cutting-edge technologies to solve the problems explorers will face on the Red Planet. Scientists at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are developing some of the needed solutions. Dr. Carlos Calle, lead scientist in the center's Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory, and Jay Phillips, a research physicist working there, are developing an electrostatic precipitator to help solve the dust problem. "Commodities such as oxygen water and me...

According to the CDC, 91 people die from opioid overdoses every day in the U.S. Here in Massachusetts, the state has an opioid-related death rate that is more than twice the national average. “Opioid abuse is a growing problem in healthcare,” says Daniel Kohane, MD, PhD, a senior associate in critical care medicine at Boston Children’s and professor of anesthesiology at Harvard Medical School. Now, Kohane and other scientists who are developing triggerable drug delivery systems at Bost...

In a small pilot study, researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated a rapid, simple way to generate large numbers of lung stem cells for use in disease treatment. This method of harvesting and growing a patient’s own lung stem cells shows promise in mice for treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and could one day provide human IPF sufferers with an effective, less invasive method of treatment for their disease. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic ir...

A research team based at the University of Chicago has overcome challenges that have limited gene therapy and demonstrated how their novel approach with skin transplantation could enable a wide range of gene-based therapies to treat many human diseases. In the August 3, 2017 issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, the researchers provide “proof-of-concept.” They describe gene-therapy administered through skin transplants to treat two related and extremely common human ailments: type-2 diabetes a...

Historical data from Tesla’s current battery packs show about 5% capacity degradation after 50,000 miles (80,000 km) and the capacity levels off for about 150,000 more miles before hitting 90% capacity. Those are already pretty good results, but Tesla aims to do better with Jeff Dahn, a renowned battery researcher and the leader of Tesla’s research partnership through his battery-research group at Dalhousie University. The scientist and his team recently unveiled their latest research on a...

soft wearable robotic suit promotes normal walking in stroke patients, opening new approaches to gait re-training and rehabilitation Upright walking on two legs is a defining trait in humans, enabling them to move very efficiently throughout their environment. This can all change in the blink of an eye when a stroke occurs. In about 80% of patients post-stroke, it is typical that one limb loses its ability to function normally — a clinical phenomenon called hemiparesis. And even patients ...

Preclinical experiments, researchers at VCU Massey Cancer Center have uncovered a new way in which colon cancer develops, as well as a potential “silver bullet” for preventing and treating it. The findings may extend to ovarian, breast, lung, prostate and potentially other cancers that depend on the same mechanism for growth. Led by Massey’s Deputy Director Steven Grossman, M.D., Ph.D., a team of scientists targeted the gene CtBP with a drug known as HIPP (2-hydroxy-imino phenylpyruvic acid) ...

Lifeflo has developed oxygen producing small pouch for home care and remote patients. FDA cleared device designed to provide oxygen at 6 Liters / Minute for 15-20 Minutes. No prescription is required and has a 3 year shelf life.  Within 60 seconds or less 99.9% oxygen is flowing.   Lifeflo™ products produce medical grade 99.9% oxygen utilizing their patent pending technology.  Each product allows to simply and affordably provide oxygen to anyone experiencing a challenging healt...

Do you like thinking outside the box? Do you have an inquisitive mind? Do you like challenging conventional wisdom? Join Yara’s Open Innovation Challenge! We’re awarding NOK 100.000 in prize money to the student who comes up with the best idea for solving some of the world’s major challenges. We are looking for your ground-breaking idea! Yara believes in the power of young innovators. Just like Yara’s founding father Kristian Birkeland invented fertilizer production more than 100 years ago,...

Podimetrics is a company that has developed a special foot temperature monitoring pad that can keep track of a diabetic’s feet to help detect the onset of foot ulcers. The Podimetrics Mat and the rest of the company’s Remote Temperature Monitoring System allow clinicians to receive high resolution temperature scans of the soles of their patients’ feet while giving patients the convenience of doing daily tests in the convenience of the home.   Foot ulcers can have an their early wa...

electroCore, a neuroscience and technology company dedicated to improving patient outcomes through technological advancement, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released the use of gammaCore® (non-invasive vagus nerve stimulator) for the acute treatment of pain associated with episodic cluster headache in adult patients. gammaCore transmits a mild electrical stimulation to the vagus nerve through the skin, resulting in a reduction of pain. This is the first FDA product re...

Imagine rescuers searching for people in the rubble of a collapsed building. Instead of digging through the debris by hand or having dogs sniff for signs of life, they bring out a small, air-tight cylinder. They place the device at the entrance of the debris and flip a switch. From one end of the cylinder, a tendril extends into the mass of stones and dirt, like a fast-climbing vine. A camera at the tip of the tendril gives rescuers a view of the otherwise unreachable places beneath the rubble. ...

Influence of time elapsed from end of emergency surgery until admission to intensive care unit, on Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) prediction and patient mortality rate The intensive care unit is the part of the hospital that is dedicated to providing a system of continuous surveillance for seriously ill patients who are potentially recoverable or at risk.1 The high-complexity features of these services and their high cost make it difficult to offer enough beds i...

BACKGROUND: Delay of surgery for hip fracture is associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality, but the effects of surgical delays on mortality and resource use in the context of other emergency surgeries is poorly described. Our objective was to measure the independent association between delay of emergency surgery and in-hospital mortality, length of stay and costs. METHODS: We identified all adult patients who underwent emergency noncardiac surgery between January 2012 an...