Jia lab develops next generation system for imaging organoids. Biomedical researchers develop and use organoids as a tool for studying human development and disease. These little lab-grown cultures mimic human organs and provide a sharp view of tissue development, drug interaction, and other biochemical functions, offering an innovative approach to personalized medicine. “Getting detailed 3D images of these miniature models of organs, and getting a good look at how they change under different conditions or stimulation, can tell us a…
Structural color printing creates new pathways for medical diagnostics and miniaturized sensors. Microfluidic devices use tiny spaces to manipulate very small quantities of liquids and gasses by taking advantage of the properties they exhibit at the microscale. They have demonstrated usefulness in applications from inkjet printing to chemical analysis and have great potential in personal medicine, where they can miniaturize many tests that now require a full lab, lending them the name lab-on-a-chip. Researchers at Kyoto University’s Institute for Integrated…
… from Single Cells to Organoids. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT are working on new tools for the preparation and analysis of single cells and cell assemblies. The team developed the “Liftoscope”, a system for cell sorting for subsequent cultivation that can analyze and transfer biomaterials precisely and in a way that is gentle on cells. In addition to this system, further 3D bioprinting methods are increasingly finding their way into biotechnological research: Thanks to the…
… due to hyperpolarized nuclear magnetic resonance. Hyperpolarized nuclear magnetic resonance enables major medical advances in molecular diagnostics, for example for cardiovascular diseases or cancer therapy. Within the framework of the EU collaborative project “MetaboliQs”, seven partners coordinated by Fraunhofer IAF and NVision developed a microscopy method which, for the first time, enables the analysis of metabolic processes at the single cell level by means of diamond-based hyperpolarization. In addition, the consortium successfully demonstrated hyperpolarization using the PHIP method in…
A study shows how the National COVID Cohort Collaborative used XGBoost machine learning models to better define long COVID and identify potential long-COVID patients with a high degree of accuracy. Clinical scientists used machine learning (ML) models to explore de-identified electronic health record (EHR) data in the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C), a National Institutes of Health-funded national clinical database, to help discern characteristics of people with long-COVID and factors that may help identify such patients using data from medical…
Dynamic infrared tracer imaging uses affordable and widely available equipment to obtain the temporal resolution necessary to evaluate glymphatic flux within the brain. The glymphatic system facilitates fluid exchange in the central nervous system and clears dissolved wastes. This anatomically organized movement occurs primarily during sleep and is supported by astroglial neural cells via water channels called aquaporins. These channels line the perivascular pathways and facilitate cerebrospinal fluid and interstitial fluid exchange throughout the brain. Glymphatic dysfunction has been implicated…
PlasmidMaker has a user-friendly web interface with which researchers can intuitively visualize and assemble the perfect plasmid for their needs. Plasmids have extensive use in basic and applied biology. These small, circular DNA molecules are used by scientists to introduce new genes into a target organism. Well known for their applications in the production of therapeutic proteins like insulin, plasmids are broadly used in the large-scale production of many bioproducts. However, designing and constructing plasmids remains one of the most…
A research team led by the University of Adelaide, in partnership with medical technology company Fertilis, has delivered a ground-breaking new micro-device to streamline the only fertility treatment procedure available for men with low sperm counts. The first-of-its-kind device will allow more IVF clinics to offer Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) as a treatment, while several IVF procedures, such as embryo culture, embryo cryopreservation and in vitro maturation, will also be improved by using the device. ICSI is a slow and…
Handheld device could painlessly identify skin cancers. Stevens Institute of Technology uses millimeter-wave imaging to slash rate of unnecessary biopsies. Skin biopsies are no fun: doctors carve away small lumps of tissue for laboratory testing, leaving patients with painful wounds that can take weeks to heal. That’s a price worth paying if it enables early cancer treatment. However, in recent years, aggressive diagnostic efforts have seen the number of biopsies grow around four times faster than the number of cancers…
The new technology could make at-home diagnosis of diseases faster and more affordable. A University of Minnesota Twin Cities research team has developed a new microfluidic chip for diagnosing diseases that uses a minimal number of components and can be powered wirelessly by a smartphone. The innovation opens the door for faster and more affordable at-home medical testing. The researchers’ paper is published in Nature Communications, a peer-reviewed, open access, scientific journal published by Nature Research. Researchers are also working…
Devised by Scripps Research scientists, the new method could speed the development of many new drugs. Scientists at Scripps Research have invented a way to image, across different tissues and with higher precision than ever before, where drugs bind to their targets in the body. The new method could become a routine tool in drug development. Described in a paper in Cell on April 27, 2022, the new method, called CATCH, attaches fluorescent tags to drug molecules and uses chemical…
Fewer complications with device implanted under the skin. High-risk patients who need defibrillators to prevent cardiac arrest can experience fewer complications with a type of device implanted under the skin, a Canadian study has found. Traditional defibrillators, while highly effective, involve placing a wire through a vein, into the chest and into the heart itself. The wires, known as ‘leads,’ in the traditional defibrillator – called a tranvenous ICD (TV-ICD) – can cause complications including perforations in the heart muscle…
In the quest to build smart skin that mimics the sensing capabilities of natural skin, ionic skins have shown significant advantages. They’re made of flexible, biocompatible hydrogels that use ions to carry an electrical charge. In contrast to smart skins made of plastics and metals, the hydrogels have the softness of natural skin. This offers a more natural feel to the prosthetic arm or robot hand they are mounted on, and makes them comfortable to wear. These hydrogels can generate…
It helps to deliver the medicine to the tumor without affecting healthy cells. Researchers at Ural Federal University (UrFU) have proposed the use of polyoxometallate nanoclusters as a carrier for chemotherapy drug. It will help to deliver medications precisely to the focus of a pathological process, such as a cancerous tumor, without toxic effects on healthy cells. Delivery can be accomplished either by electrophoresis or by injection into the bloodstream. The development is described in the AIP Conference Proceedings. “We’ve explored…
According to folklore, silver bullets kill werewolves, but in the real world, researchers want to harness this metal to fight another deadly foe: bacteria. Recently, scientists have tried to develop a silver coating for implantable medical devices to protect against infection, but they’ve had limited success. In a study in ACS Central Science, one team describes a new, long-acting silver-ion releasing coating that, in rats, prevents bacteria from adhering to implants and then kills them. Sometimes medical care requires surgeons to…
Improved efficiency of wireless energy transfer of ultrasonic waves by triboelectric power generation. Ultrasonic waves have applications in wireless charging of batteries underwater or in body-implanted electronic devices. As population ages and with the advancements in medical technology, the number of patients using implanted electronic devices, such as artificial pacemakers and defibrillators, is increasing worldwide. Currently, the batteries of body-implanted devices are replaced by an incision surgery, which may lead to health complications. Accordingly, a new charging technique by wireless…
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