Research

Ingestible 'Bacteria on a Chip' could Help Diagnose Disease

MIT researchers have built an ingestible sensor equipped with genetically engineered bacteria that can diagnose bleeding in the stomach or other gastrointestinal problems. This "bacteria-on-a-chip" approach combines sensors made from living cells with ultra-low-power electronics that convert the bacterial response into a wireless signal that can be read by a smartphone.

New Study Reveals How Electronic Health Records can Benefit Clinical Trials

The study entitled "Long term extension of a randomised controlled trial of probiotics using electronic health records" led by researchers in the Swansea University Medical School and the College of Human and Health Sciences, was published in Scientific Reports. The findings demonstrate the potential of using anonymised routinely collected electronic health records, such as those linked in SAIL, for more complete trial results.

Computer-Designed Customized Regenerative Heart Valves

Producing living tissue or organs based on human cells is one of the main research fields in regenerative medicine. Tissue engineering, which involves growing replacement parts in the laboratory, forms a key part of this research. The parts can be used to replace defective cells and tissues in the body and restore their normal functioning.

A New Way to Watch Brain Activity in Action

It's a neuroscientist's dream: being able to track the millions of interactions among brain cells in animals that move about freely, behaving as they would under natural circumstances. New technology developed at The Rockefeller University represents a big step toward realizing that goal.

Gait Assessed with Body-Worn Sensors may Help Detect Onset of Alzheimer's Disease

Body-worn sensors used at home and in clinic by people with mild Alzheimer's to assess walking could offer a cost-effective way to detect early disease and monitor progression of the illness. A pilot study involving Newcastle University, UK, has revealed low-cost wearable devices could improve clinical trial efficiency and encourage research investment. Identification of clinical biomarkers, such as changes in walking characteristics and behaviours, are known to be important factors when looking at early warning signs of dementia.

Computers Equal Radiologists in Assessing Breast Density and Associated Breast Cancer Risk

Automated breast-density evaluation was just as accurate in predicting women's risk of breast cancer, found and not found by mammography, as subjective evaluation done by radiologists, in a study led by researchers at UC San Francisco and Mayo Clinic. Both assessment methods were equally accurate in predicting both the risk of cancer detected through mammography screening and the risk of interval invasive cancer - that is, cancer diagnosed within a year of a negative mammography result.

Nanomedicine: Drugs can be Made 'Smarter'

A new method has been developed to make drugs 'smarter' using nanotechnology so they will be more effective at reaching their target. Scientists from the University of Lincoln, UK, have devised a new technique to 'decorate' gold nanoparticles with a protein of choice so they can be used to tailor drug to more accurately target an area on the body, such as a cancer tumour.

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