Medical

Professor George Bittner and his colleagues at the University of Texas at Austin Center for Neuroscience have developed a simple and inexpensive procedure to quickly repair severed peripheral nerves. The team took advantage of a mechanism similar to that which permits many invertebrates to regenerate and repair nerve damage. The new procedure, based on timely application of common chemicals to the severed nerve ends, could help patients to recover nearly full function in days or weeks. Read More

Although people do regularly recover from heart attacks, the heart itself never entirely “gets better.” This is because cardiac muscle tissue doesn’t regenerate – any that dies in the event of a heart attack will only be replaced with inactive scar tissue, and the heart’s performance will be permanently compromised as a result. Scientists have responded by trying to develop heart patches made of materials that act as nanoscale scaffolds, upon which new cardiomyocytes (heart cells) can grow. Materials used for these scaffolds have included fibrin, nanofiber, gold nanowires and polymer. Now, new research is suggesting that silkworm silk may be a better choice than any of those. Read More

Insurgents are commonly taught to aim just below a soldier's body armor, which is where the abdominal area meets the legs. When a bullet hits this area it causes massive internal bleeding which often proves fatal in a matter of minutes. Two physicians specializing in emergency medicine have now developed a tool designed to treat rapid lethal war injuries. The device, which is known as the abdominal aortic tourniquet effectively slows bleeding and gives much needed time to stop the flow of blood which could save a soldier's life. Read More

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have conducted initial testing of a new “smart” plastic material which may bring about new uses in medicine for near-infrared light (NIR). According to early experiments, the plastic material will break down into non-toxic particles in response to lower-power NIR. This may lead to improved treatment of, for example, tumors, or improvements in the release of tracing compounds and imaging agents for improved medical diagnostics applications. Read More

Researchers of Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science have achieved a significant new development which may have far reaching implications for the treatment of autoimmune diseases which attack the body's own tissue by mistake. The scientists have managed to convince the immune systems of mice to instead attack an enzyme significant to the body's autoimmune process known as matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP9). Read More

The future technology depicted in the various Star Trek TV series and films certainly holds a lot of appeal for many of us – who wouldn’t want to teleport to Hawaii, live out their fantasies on a holodeck, or enjoy some instant gourmet chow straight out of a replicator? It looks like the Star Trek item that we’re the closest to seeing become a reality, however, is the medical tricorder. This May, the X-PRIZE Foundation proposed a US$10 million Tricorder X-PRIZE, with the intention of encouraging the production of consumer devices that can assess a person’s state of health. The first potential contestant, which already has a tricorder in the works, is a tech start-up by the name of Scanadu. Read More

It's sadly ironic that the very properties which make our skulls such excellent brain protectors, strength and rigidity, often work against us after head injuries. Not only does the hard bone conceal damage from concussions and bleeding, say, but it also confines the swelling, causing intra-cranial pressure to surge, a situation that can lead to further brain damage. While CT scans and magnetic resonance imaging systems are crucial to an accurate assessment, they are rarely available to emergency medical personnel at remote accident sites or on the battlefield. To help address the need for rapid and timely diagnosis of head traumas, separate research teams at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) have each developed hand-held devices that use Near Infra-Red (NIR) imaging to quickly detect hematomas (internal bleeding) and other life-threatening traumatic brain injury (TBI). Read More

The sad fact is that most sources of health care advice online are sorely lacking in reliability. People with potential health problems are usually stuck wading through a wide array of potential diagnoses for their symptoms which may or may not have been fact-checked by an actual doctor. HealthTap says it can change this perception with a service that verifies the credentials of physicians and incentivizes doctors to participate by enhancing their reputations. Read More

It's not always convenient to take your wallet with you wherever you go. Times like a morning run or bike ride, it can be easier to leave your cash and ID at home. What happens if you're out on a run and want to stop for a cup of coffee? What if you have a medical emergency or become injured during your trip? RumbaTime's series of GO-enabled watches aim to solve those problems by letting you bring your cash and all your medical information along with you wherever you go in a small colorful watch. Read More