Bloodstream

A microfluidic device that simulates the embryonic heartbeat and circulation. Red channels indicate blood stem cell seeding channels, blue channels control the ventricular contractions, and green controls circulation valves

Medical

Artificial embryo heart system grows blood stem cells on demand

Researchers at the University of New South Wales have demonstrated how a microfluidic device that mimics the embryonic heart can produce blood stem cell precursors, which could let blood stem cells be manufactured on demand.

The battery-powered device contains propofol-detecting sensors in its needle, along with data-processing electronics in its main body

Medical

"Smart pen" could monitor patients' anesthetic levels during surgery

Everyone responds to general anesthetics differently, which can make administering the correct dose tricky. A new device is designed to help, by continuously monitoring anesthetic levels in patients' bloodstreams during surgical procedures.

Researchers have demonstrated a device that can track real-time fluctuations in glucose and insulin but suggest it could be modified to track any protein, antibody or hormone found in circulating blood

Medical

Stanford innovation promises real-time continuous blood monitoring

Continuous blood monitoring would be a transformative advance for doctors and a new study brings that reality closer. New research describes a device that can detect real-time changes in blood levels of any molecule a doctor would need to monitor.

Researchers have developed a new synthetic molecule that can break down blood clots without interfering with blood's natural ability to clot after an injury

Medical

New blood thinner prevents clots with less risk of excess bleeding

Treatments for blood clots in the body naturally come with a risk of excessive bleeding from an injury. But a new synthetic blood thinner bypasses this side effect, fighting thrombosis while still allowing blood to clot normally in a wound.

Corresponding author of the study Sean Davidson

Medical

Bacteria farms produce protein that clears fat from bloodstream

Triglycerides are a form of fat that circulates through the bloodstream, and high levels can lead to obesity and related illnesses. Now, researchers have found a way to efficiently produce a protein that clears these fats from the bloodstream.

Researchers have discovered a new component in blood plasma

Biology

Unexpected new component discovered circulating in bloodstream

Researchers have discovered a new component in blood that has never been detected there before. Mitochondria are normally found inside cells, but the team has now discovered them floating around on their own in the bloodstream.

Four chemicals in sunscreen were found to leech into people's bloodstreams at levels high enough to warrant further safety testing

Science

FDA study finds sunscreen chemicals enter bloodstream but health risks unclear

A new study has found that four active ingredients in sunscreen can leech into a person's bloodstream at levels high enough to warrant further toxicology testing. Cancer experts say it’s unclear whether these chemical concentrations are dangerous to humans.

In a sample of subjects with familial history of Alzheimer's disease, a new blood test could identify the disease up to 16 years before symptoms became evident

Medical

Alzheimer’s blood test breakthrough identifies disease a decade before symptoms appear 

A compelling new study from an international team of researchers has described a novel protein that could be a useful blood-based biomarker to monitor the progression of Alzheimer's disease over a decade before any clinical symptoms appear.

A new treatment for smoking cessation is ready to move into the first stages of human trials to test safety and efficacy

Health & Wellbeing

Enzyme to help smokers quit by eliminating nicotine in the blood before it reaches the brain

New research has revealed a promising new candidate to help smokers kick their damaging addiction. An enzyme has been engineered that can gobble up nicotine in the bloodstream before it reaches the brain, with the compound proving to be incredibly successful in early animal tests.

A magnetic wire attracts free-floating tumor cells that have been magnetized by specially engineered nanoparticles

Medical

How magnetized wire can detect cancer cells in your blood

A fascinating cancer detection technique has been developed by scientists at Stanford University. The process involves a small magnetic wire being inserted into a vein where it attracts free-floating tumor cells in the blood.

Researchers at Penn State have camouflaged drug-delivering nanoparticles by wrapping them inside cancer cells

Medical

Cancer-killing nanoparticles sneak through defenses camouflaged in tumor cells

A new therapy designed at Penn State has turned one of cancer's tactics against it. The team camouflaged a cancer-killing drug using cells from the tumor itself, allowing them to sneak medicine past the tumor’s defenses like a nanoscale Trojan horse and deliver a killing blow from the inside.

Researchers have found that a commercially available supplement can improve dilation of a subjects’ arteries by 42 percent in response to increased blood flow

Health & Wellbeing

Antioxidant found to wind back the clock on blood vessel function by up to 20 years

A new breakthrough at the University of Colorado is the latest advance in the burgeoning realm of anti-aging science, demonstrating how a chemically altered nutritional supplement may well reverse aging of the blood vessels, in turn giving cardiovascular health a vital boost.