The faecal transplant, also known as trans-poo-sion, surely has the title of medicine’s most disgusting procedure.
It is pretty much what you are imagining – part of a faecal stool is taken from one person and given to another.
The purpose is to introduce new beneficial microbes to the receiving patient’s digestive system.
And it can be life-saving.
Continue reading… “Why a faecal transplant could save your life”
Scientists have developed a method for filling cavities by mimicking nature.
The sound of the dentist’s drill could be a thing of the past with news that scientists have created a way to fix tooth cavities without the need for painful fillings.
It can detect signals at frequencies higher and lower than our own ears, too.
Continue reading… “Tiny ‘hearing’ device is 100,000 times thinner than your eardrum”
Israel-based BrainQ is a new neurotech startup hoping to take on brain-computer interface (BCI) companies like Braintree founder Bryan Johnson’s Kernel and Silicon Valley billionaire Elon Musk’s Neuralink.
Continue reading… “BrainQ aims to cure stroke and spinal cord injuries through mind-reader tech”
Stanford researchers have set the stage for an evolution in electronics by taking the concept of ‘artificial skin’ to the next level, demonstrating not only a stretchable circuitry that can feel the touch of a ladybug, but a manufacturing process to mass produce this circuitry.
Continue reading… “Stanford researchers develop stretchable, touch-sensitive electronics”
The advance of CRISPR gene editing technology, which uses an RNA strand to guide an enzyme called Cas9 to cut a specific portion of DNA, has raised concerns and sparked debate as people envision a not-so-distant future populated by bioengineered super-crops, genetically flawless pets, and customized babies. While the method could be used for these purposes, it’s also showing potential as a valuable medical tool, with a seemingly new condition added each week to the list of what CRISPR may one day cure.
Continue reading… “New CRISPR method takes on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy”
Shixiu Wu, president of the Hangzhou Cancer Hospital, has started treating patients with advanced forms of cancer with modified T-cells. Despite his success, others worry China’s lack of tight research regulations could be putting patients at risk.
Continue reading… “Chinese doctors are using modified T-Cells to treat advanced forms of cancer”
Shaorong Deng gets an experimental treatment for cancer of the esophagus that uses his own immune system cells. They have been genetically modified with the gene-editing technique known as CRISPR.
Continue reading… “Doctors in China lead race to treat cancer by editing genes”
ETH researchers have developed a technology platform that allows them to systematically modify and customise bacteriophages. This technology is a step towards making phage therapies a powerful tool for combating dangerous pathogens.
Continue reading… “Workbench for virus design”
It’s the closest we’ve come to growing transplantable hearts in the lab
Of the 4,000 Americans waiting for heart transplants, only 2,500 will receive new hearts in the next year. Even for those lucky enough to get a transplant, the biggest risk is the their bodies will reject the new heart and launch a massive immune reaction against the foreign cells. To combat the problems of organ shortage and decrease the chance that a patient’s body will reject it, researchers have been working to create synthetic organs from patients’ own cells. Now a team of scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School has gotten one step closer, using adult skin cells to regenerate functional human heart tissue, according to a study published recently in the journal Circulation Research.
Continue reading… “Scientists grow full sized, beating human hearts from stem cells”
Science fiction no more — in an article out today in Nature Biotechnology, scientists were able to show tiny autonomous bots have the potential to function as intelligent delivery vehicles to cure cancer in mice.
Continue reading… “New DNA nanorobots successfully target and kill off cancerous tumors”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.