Medical

Joint pain is a common ailment of aging, thanks to cartilage’s tendency to wear out. Researchers at Duke University have developed a new hydrogel that’s stronger and more durable than the real thing, which could make for longer lasting knee implants.

A cornea implant made out of collagen gathered from pig skin has restored the vision of volunteers in a landmark study. Pending further testing, the novel implant is hoped to improve the vision of millions waiting for difficult transplant surgeries.

Getting a bandage to stick to your skin can sometimes be difficult, particularly if that skin is wet. This isn't a problem with an experimental new wound dressing however, which uses ultrasound-induced microbubbles to better bond with the skin.

Patients who remain in bed for long periods of time may develop pressure sores, which can in turn become potentially life-threatening chronic skin ulcers. A new sensor could help keep that from happening, using scattered light.

Researchers at the Salk Institute have made a breakthrough that could lead to new treatments for genetic hearing loss. Gene therapy that delivers a particular protein can ensure faulty hair cells grow correctly, allowing for improved hearing.

Bacteria are fast developing resistance to our best drugs, leaving us poised on the edge of a major health crisis. But a new antibiotic has shown promise against several key “superbugs,” while minimizing damage against good bacteria in the body.

Asthma is usually managed by treating symptoms, but new research shows a potential way to target a root cause of the disease. A molecule prevented structural changes in the airways of asthmatic mice and eliminated their symptoms in weeks.

Glioblastoma is one of the most deadly forms of cancer, often returning with a vengeance after it's removed. A newly developed immunity-boosting hydrogel could be injected into the brain after surgery to clear out remaining cancer stem cells.

While medical electrodes are vital to the monitoring of electrical activity in the body, they're rigid and costly, plus they don't stay on well if the wearer is moving. A new sugar-cube-derived electrode, however, addresses those shortcomings.

Most vaccines need to be refrigerated, so it's difficult and expensive to get them to remote areas where they’re often needed most. A new method for encapsulating vaccines in hydrogels lets them be transported and stored at much higher temperatures.

The immune system’s foreign body response is key for keeping us healthy – but it’s not so useful when that foreign body is a medical implant. A new device prevents scar tissue forming around implants by gently inflating and deflating every 12 hours.

By using advanced screening methods to tune into the communications taking place between individual cells, scientists have produced a full connectivity map of the human immune system, which may help develop new treatments for disease.

Researchers at the University at Buffalo have used Bluetooth earbuds and a deep learning AI system to diagnose three common ear conditions with a simple, non-invasive audio test that uses a sonar-like audio chirp to map out the ear structure.

MIT scientists have uncovered a mechanism for how a common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s contributes to the disease. It centers on lipid metabolism, and early investigations suggest it could eventually lead to new treatments for the disease.

A research team in Germany has found that even slight changes to regular physical activity, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator, can counter the age-related loss of volume in brain regions linked to disease.