Medical science has come a long way from tribal shaman dispensing herbs and roots. Having already cured many diseases and conditions that were once a death sentence, medical researchers continue to strive to help us live longer and healthier lives. Great advances are being made in regrowing damaged organs, turning back our biological clocks, and the big one – finding a cure for cancer.
Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a novel early warning system for four common types of cancer. An implant keeps watch for elevated levels of calcium in the blood – and warns the patient by growing an artificial mole on their skin.
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When an implant is introduced to the body, there's a chance that its surface will be colonized by bacteria. In some cases, such infections require the implant to be removed. It's recently been discovered, however, that coating implants with graphene flakes could help keep that from happening.
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Caffeine may be a “catalyst” that turns us from sleepy zombies into functioning members of society, but now that may be more literal. Scientists have used caffeine to replace the metal catalysts normally used in creating polymer materials, opening the door for drug delivery via chewable gels.
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A new cancer drug known as BLU-667 has moved through phase I human trials, and the results are promising. Taken orally, the drug targets what are known as RET-driven cancers, including types of thyroid and lung cancers, which are normally hard to treat.
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University of Adelaide researchers have created a fiber optic probe that can reach deep into the brain to capture images and measure temperature. It’s been developed to learn more about hyperthermia to do with drug use, and may lead to new understanding of drug toxicology.
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Skin cancer is the most common form of the disease, but it usually requires a biopsy to confirm whether a mark is malignant or not. Now, an Australian team has developed a microbiopsy device that’s far less invasive, basically painless, and won’t leave a scar.
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Rresearchers at the University of Michigan have found a way to retrain the immune system to ignore allergens by developing a nasal spray that vaccinates against peanut allergies, with promising results in mouse tests.
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One of the clearest Alzheimer's risk factors is the gene apoE4. New research has peered closer at the protein encoded by this gene and uncovered how it affects the brain, how it increases the risks of Alzheimer’s and most importantly, how the damage can be reversed.
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Researchers at Caltech have induced a range of sensations in the arm of a paralyzed man. Electrodes implanted in the brain stimulated the neurons to produce different feelings. The research could eventually lead to prosthetic limbs that allow users to feel realistic sensations through them.
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In resource-poor developing nations, tuberculosis is typically diagnosed by analyzing a smear of a patient's sputum with a standard microscope – a method that's somewhat problematic. Now, scientists have confirmed that getting rats to sniff the samples is a better way to go.
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