Identifying whether a potential drug is having an effect on cancer cells is not always obvious. If enough cells change their morphology, it’s fairly easy to see the change under a microscope. Spotting individual cells that are unique among millions of others is what researchers at Brown University have been working on. They developed a high speed vision system that outlines cells that just went through an epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Within tumors such cells lead to greater malignanc...

As humans, we sniff out different scents and aromas using chemical receptors in our noses. In technological gas detection, however, there are a whole host of other methods available. One such method is to use infrared lasers, passing a laser beam through the gas to an adjacent separate detector, which measures the degree of light attenuation it causes. TU Wien's tiny new sensor now brings together both sides within a single component, making it possible to use the same microscopic structure for ...

Approximately 2% of Americans have a visual disability— vision that cannot be corrected even with the strongest prescription—and in developing countries where infectious disease or untreated cataracts are more common, the percentage is often higher. Many different diseases and conditions can cause low vision, including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and cone dystrophy (a genetic mutation affecting the cone cells of the retina). People with low vision find everyday act...

One may not think that the humble toothbrush is a particularly glamorous health device, but if you scour the Dentistry category here on Medgadget, you’ll quickly discover how important oral health is to your overall health. So important is dental health that October in America has been designated National Dental Hygiene Month. To help commemorate this important month, we were given two electric toothbrushes that have evolved into the “smart” category. These smart toothbrushes feature Bluetooth t...

Recent research suggests that nanotechnologies may lead to the development of novel cancer treatment. Gold nanoparticles with their unique physical and chemical properties hold great hopes for the development of thermal-based therapies against human malignancies. This review will focus on various strategies that have been developed to use gold nanoparticles as photothermal agents against human cancers. Pancreatic cancer begins in the tissues of your pancreas — an organ in your abdomen that li...

Did you know that your brain processes information in a hierarchy? As you are reading this page, the signal coming in through your eyes enters your brain through the thalamus, which organizes it. That information then goes on to the primary visual cortex at the back of the brain, where populations of neurons respond to very specific basic properties. For instance, one set of neurons might fire up because the text on your screen is black and another set might activate because there are vertical l...

  Colorectal cancer is the second most common cancer. New treatments tend to be in high demand because current treatment options offer limited efficacy and can be ineffective in up to 70% of patients, in part due to genetic variation, rendering personalized medicine to be increasingly important. Argonaut Therapeutics plans to reboot the cancer cell so that it undergoes the body’s natural cell death process, known as apoptosis. Essentially, their therapies will target a “switch” that p...

For years, doctors have had reliable charts of the body and its organs -- blood circulation, digestive system, nerves and the like -- but always with one frustrating grey zone: the brain. On Wednesday, a team of neuroscientists, computer specialists and engineers said they had compiled what "could be the most accurate map yet" of the mysterious expanse between our ears. In the process, they discovered nearly 100 previously unreported regions of the organ's wrinkly outer layer -- called the...

This technology is a device that uses electrical activity to facilitate the wound healing process while protecting the wound. The bandage is made of an electroactive material (pictured above) that is stimulated by the heat of the body and the pressure of cell growth, thus no external power source is required. NASA has developed a high-tech electroactive bandage that creates an electric charge to help promote the healing process of wounds. Electroactive material is so sensitive that a push ...

Millions of people worldwide need glasses or contact lenses to see or read properly. We introduce a computational display technology that predistorts the presented content for an observer, so that the target image is perceived without the need for eyewear. By designing optics in concert with prefiltering algorithms, the proposed display architecture achieves significantly higher resolution and contrast than prior approaches to vision-correcting image display. We demonstrate that inexpensive ligh...

Most people notice that they naturally experience different levels of sleepiness and alertness throughout the day, but what causes these patterns? Sleep is regulated by two body systems: sleep/wake homeostasis and the circadian biological clock . When we have been awake for a long period of time, sleep/wake homeostasis tells us that a need for sleep is accumulating and that it is time to sleep. It also helps us maintain enough sleep throughout the night to make up for the hours of being awake...

Astronauts know their bodies will be tested during time spent on the International Space Station, from the 15 daily sunrises and sunsets wreaking havoc on their circadian rhythms to the lack of gravity that weakens bone density and muscle. NASA is working to counteract these otherworldly challenges to enable long-term human exploration of space. For example, special lighting helps with sleep, and rigorous exercise helps keep astronauts’ bodies strong. But, frustratingly, bone loss continue...

NASA Ames Research Center received an unusual call for help: a local woman was still bleeding weeks after giving birth, despite every attempt to halt it — including nine surgeries. Her condition, known as postpartum hemorrhage, can result from a number of different complications during childbirth. Left untreated, it can prove fatal. Ames researchers and engineers proposed applying pressure to the woman’s entire lower body using an inflated anti-gravity suit, or G-suit — like tightly wrapping ...

Nanoparticles known as Cornell dots, or C dots, have shown great promise as a therapeutic tool in the detection and treatment of cancer. Now, the ultrasmall particles – developed more than a dozen years ago by Ulrich Wiesner, the Spencer T. Olin Professor of Engineering – have shown they can do something even better: kill cancer cells without attaching a cytotoxic drug. A study led by Michelle Bradbury, director of intraoperative imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and associ...

Researchers have discovered that a protein found naturally in cells that provides some protection from viruses is responsible for creating mutations that drive resistance to tamoxifen treatment in breast cancer. Because the protein, known as APOBEC3B, is found in elevated quantities in other kinds of cancer cells, the finding explains differential responses to treatment and opens the door to boosting the effectiveness of tamoxifen and related breast cancer therapies that inhibit the ability of e...

Far too many diseases do not have a proven means of prevention or effective treatments. We must gain better insights into the biological, environmental, and behavioral influences on these diseases to make a difference for the millions of Americans who suffer from them. Precision medicine is an emerging approach for disease treatment and prevention that takes into account individual variability in genes, environment, and lifestyle for each person. While some advances in precision medicine have be...

Photoswitches are a family of small-molecules designed to photo-modulate the activity of specific signaling proteins: One color turns the protein ‘on’; a different color turns it ‘off’. Photoswitches were conceived at the Nanomedicine Development Center for the Optical Control of Biological Function at UC Berkeley Light-sensitive proteins are changing the way scientists study how new drug candidates affect critical properties of heart and nerve cells. The proteins, discovered by Max Planck re...

Poze is the most user-friendly and affordable way to improve your posture. They have cut the noise and focused on a real problem: how to avoid bad habits. Poze is a wearable device that has no app, no charging, and no diagrams. The certified technology calculates the angle of your back’s posture. If you slouch for 1 minute, Poze silently buzzes reminding you to straighten back up. In 3 weeks your muscles will feel normal when sitting or standing tall. Attach Poze with a self-adhesive hypo-all...

What happens inside your body when you start a fitness routine? How does a change in your diet affect your biochemistry? What can you do to get the best out of your body? In order to provide answers to these questions,Metabolomic Discoveries GmbH has developed Kenkodo, a personalized metabolomics testing service to help you know your body better. Kenkodo connects a person’s lifestyle to the biochemical state of the body. Metabolomics is at the cutting edge of biotechnology. For the first time...

Nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (nanoSIMS or nano secondary ion mass spectrometry) is a nanoscopic scale resolution chemical imaging mass spectrometer based on secondary ion mass spectrometry. It works based on a coaxial optical design of the ion gun and the secondary ion extraction, and on an original magnetic sector mass spectrometer with multicollection. NanoSIMS not only refers to the technique used, but also the mass spectrometer specialized for this method. There are currently...

Researchers have shown that when parts of a genome known as enhancers are missing, the heart works abnormally, a finding that bolsters the importance of DNA segments once considered “junk” because they do not code for specific proteins. On the left, a mouse embryo showing enhancer activity (blue staining) in the developing heart. On the right, a closeup of this heart, showing that the enhancer is active in the left ventricle, left atrium, and right atrium of the heart. (Credit: Mammalian Func...

A high-glycemic load diet is linked to higher depression symptoms, fatigue and mood disturbance compared to a low-glycemic load diet, a new study finds. The glycemic load (GL) helps people assess how food portions affect blood sugar levels, and can be useful for people with diabetes who may be unsure about how a meal could affect their management. Foods with a high GL are those with a high carbohydrate value that influence blood glucose levels quickly. Bread, rice and many breakfast cereal...

At some point in their lives, 15 percent of people with diabetes will develop a painful and hard-to-treat foot ulcer. Twenty-four percent of those affected will require a lower-leg amputation because of it. And, in some instances, what seems like a harmless sore might even lead to death. A Northwestern Engineering team has developed a new treatment for this severe and potentially deadly complication of diabetes. Called a “regenerative bandage,” the novel material heals diabetic wounds four ti...

WOOLF is a legal and simple device that you put at your wrist to be warned of speed traps, school zones, & red light cameras... You no longer have to worry about checking speed limits and other sensitive points, Woolf will do this for you. Woolf is made of high quality leather that is water resistant and specially designed for bike clothing. It is functional, thin and comfortable to wear even with tight gloves The dedicated app uses the leading world mapping speed limit service and oth...

LVL is a hydration monitor from BSX, You might know that name from the company’s first product, the Insight lactate threshold monitor. Why Monitor Hydration? Think of LVL as the evolution of that technology, says BSX co-founder Dustin Freckleton, MD. “Lactate threshold was always a mid-range goal on the way to what we truly wanted to do, which was measure hydration,” he says. Freckleton’s interest is partly personal: in the midst of studying for med school exams, he suffered a stroke partly ...

The Saver Emergency Breath System is a personal life saving device that allows you to breathe clean air in the event of a fire. Saver helps prevent smoke inhalation which is the leading cause of fire fatalities. Saver filters chemical substances and removes carbon monoxide and toxic gases giving you up to 5 minutes of breathable air—Enough to get you and your family safely out of the house during a fire. https://youtu.be/XAaZjtjcHZA Triple Filter Technology Saver is designed with a tripl...

Northwestern Medicine scientists, working with the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN), recently assessed whether an RNA biosignature of the body’s response to infection could distinguish if infants 60 days or younger with fever were experiencing a serious bacterial infection. The results, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, show how RNA biosignatures may be an alternative – and more accurate – method to identify infants with bacterial infectio...

Phototactic behaviour directs some bacteria towards light and others into darkness: This enables them to utilize solar energy as efficiently as possible for their metabolism, or, otherwise, protects them from excessive light intensity. A team of researchers headed by Clemens Bechinger from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and the University of Stuttgart, as well as colleagues from the University of Düsseldorf have now found a surprisingly simple way to direct synthetic microswimm...

Developing oral care products to prevent and treat oral diseases requires model systems to test the potential therapies before applying them to humans. However, the ability of current models to accurately reflect human oral physiology or predict the effects of therapies on the human disease state is limited, and can be a rate limiting stage of the development process. Colgate-Palmolive is working with Draper to create an advanced gum tissue model that improves the predictive power of the testing...