What significant advances can we expect in 2012?
In 2011 some great medical feats were accomplished. Dallas Wiens became the first recipient of a full-face transplant in the United States, Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords survived a gunshot to her brain, and HIV researchers found a way to lower an infected person’s chance of transmitting the virus to sexual partners by 96 percent.
Continue reading… “5 advanced in medicine predicted for 2012”
Purdue associate professor of biological sciences Zhao-Qing Luo, at right, and graduate student Yunhao Tan look at the growth of Legionella pneumophila bacteria in a petri dish.
Bacteria are able to build camouflaged homes for themselves inside healthy cells — and cause disease — by manipulating a natural cellular process.
Purdue University biologists led a team that revealed how a pair of proteins from the bacteria Legionella pneumophila, which causes Legionnaires disease, alters a host protein in order to divert raw materials within the cell for use in building and disguising a large structure that houses the bacteria as it replicates…
Continue reading… “How bacteria build homes inside healthy cells”
Hear no pandemic, see no pandemic, speak no pandemic.
The US government has approached the scientific journals Nature and Science in order to censor data on a lab-made version of bird flu, because it could potentially be used as a weapon. That’s not cool!
According to the Guardian, the US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) asked the journals to publish redacted versions of studies carried out by two research groups…
Continue reading… “The US Is Trying To Censor Scientific Journals”
Genes determine a lot of things about your life.
Do you prefer to run in packs or operate as a loner? Your answer is determined by your genes, a new study claims. It’s a big shift in social behavior theory, since scientists previously thought the environment determined social behavior.
For example, scientists thought that where food was sparsely spread around, primates would live in large groups to more efficiently forage. But according to the new findings, which were published in the journal Nature, primates will behave the way their genes tell them to, regardless of food availability.
It’s evidence for genetic determinism—the idea that our genes dictate our behavior. But it seems wrong, right? I know I tend to go with the behavior that helps me to avoid hunger most effectively. But Nicholas Wade in The New York Times sums it up thusly…
Continue reading… “Why genetic determinism is bad for humans”
Plasma for the common cold?
Would you snort a plasma lamp to fight the common cold? Don’t laugh – plasma balls may be trippy to you but they’re downright deadly to viruses.
According to scientists, cold plasma (basically a stream of ionized gas) can actually prevent viruses from replicating…
Continue reading… “Plasma can kill off viruses”
An elderly woman suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
An injection that could transform millions of lives by tackling Alzheimer’s in its earliest stages is being tested on British patients.
Continue reading… “New drug could halt Alzheimer’s before it can destroy lives”
This project at Washington State University is incredibly nifty. Researchers use a 3-D printer to make a bone-like material that can temporarily do the job of bone, while serving as a scaffold for new bone to grow on. Over time, it dissolves safely…
Continue reading… “3-D printer makes scaffolding for growing bones”
The Maria system can detect tumors in just eight seconds.
A revolutionary breast-screening system using anti-landmine technology that can detect cancer in seconds has been created by British scientists.
Cardiomyocytes damaged by a heart attack.
As it turns out, nature has its own method for transplanting stem cells. When a pregnant mouse has a heart attack, her fetus goes to work to help repair the damage! The experiment mated female lab mice with males who had the genes to produce green fluorescent protein (GFP). Around half the embryos produced also had the ability to produce the protein. This way, scientists could track fetal cells separately from maternal cells. Then heart attacks were induced in the pregnant mice…
Continue reading… “Mouse fetuses help mother’s hearts”
Growing skin at home has never been easier.
While skin grafts are an essential tool for treating severe burns, Avita Medical has developed a compact kit that grows replacement skin that can be sprayed on. Which has resulted in faster healing and better cosmetic results in patient testing.
Instead of growing patches of skin that can be draped over severely burned areas, the ReCell kit uses a small sample of the patient’s keratinocytes and melanocytes skin cells that quickly reproduce in a special suspension solution…
Continue reading… “ReCell kit grows spray on skin at home”
Researchers have developed a sensor that can detect blood glucose levels in tears.
Scientists have found a way to save diabetics from having to draw blood several times a day to test their sugar levels – test diabetics tears.
Continue reading… “Diabetes breakthrough tests tears instead of blood”
Blood protein from genetically modified rice could ease demand for blood donations.
Genetically modified grains of rice produce a key component of human blood in an attempt to provide an alternative to donations. The protein, extracted from rice plants containing human genes, could be used in hospitals to treat burns victims and help patients who have suffered severe blood loss.
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.