While immune cells called neutrophils are known to act as infantry in the body’s war on germs, a National Institutes of Health-funded study suggests they can act as medics as well. By studying rodents, researchers showed that instead of attacking germs, some neutrophils may help heal the brain after an intracerebral hemorrhage, a form of...
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Cargo-Sorting DNA Robots
Autonomous molecules that collect, carry, and sort different genetic packages usher in a new era for nucleic-acid robotics. Walking across a precisely folded DNA landscape, a teeny tiny robot picks up a molecular payload, drops it off at a defined delivery address, then heads off to retrieve and sort more molecules. This is not the...
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When good immune cells turn bad
Investigators at the Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles have identified new findings about an immune cell – called a tumor-associated macrophage – that promotes cancer instead of fighting it. They have identified the molecular pathway, known as STAT3, as the mechanism the immune cell uses to foster neuroblastoma,...
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Unique gene therapy prevents, reverses multiple sclerosis in animal model
Multiple sclerosis affects about 2.3 million people worldwide and is the most common neurological disease in young adults. Multiple sclerosis can be inhibited or reversed in mouse models using a novel gene therapy technique to suppress the immune response that induces the disease, University of Florida Health researchers have found. By combining the transfer of...
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The Easiest Place to Use CRISPR Might Be in Your Ear
Scientists are hopeful they can inject the gene-editing technology directly into the ear to stop hereditary deafness. We all know that CRISPR is the next big thing in gene-editing treatments. But how do you get the versatile genetic scissors into a person’s body? The usual way might be to load the gene-editing instructions into billions of viruses...
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Usher syndrome: Gene therapy restores hearing and balance
Hearing loss, sometimes associated with other disorders such as balance defects, is the most common sensory deficit, affecting more than 280 million people worldwide, according to WHO. In France, one child in 700 is born with severe or profound hearing loss, and one in every 1,000 will lose their sense of hearing before adulthood. Over...
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Types of Immunotherapy Cancer Patients Need to Understand
Immunotherapy is an FDA-approved treatment for cancer that has significantly improved outcomes for patients. Immunotherapy is actually an umbrella term for different kinds of treatment, according to oncologist Melissa Wilson, MD, PhD, of the NYU Langone Medical Center. Four commonly used types of immunotherapy include antibodies, vaccines, cytokines, and checkpoint inhibitors. Antibodies are an active...
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NTU scientists develop patch which could improve healing and reduce scarring
Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a new gel patch prototype that could speed up the healing of a skin wound while minimising the formation of scars. The team unveiled the patch today as a proof-of-concept. When fully developed, this healing patch could be a boon for diabetic patients, who suffer...
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3D-printable synthetic muscle is three times stronger than you
Columbia University engineers have developed a soft actuator that mimics natural muscle, but is three times stronger The classic image of a robot is one clad in a rigid metal shell, but that might not be practical in situations where man and machine will need to work together. The emerging field of soft robotics is helping...
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Wireless, Handheld Ultrasound for iOS and Android: Interview with Laurent Pelissier, CEO of Clarius Mobile Health
Clarius Mobile Health, a Canadian firm, is a pioneering company specializing in portable solutions for ultrasound diagnostics. Since its debut, it has surprised and impressed us with its tiny portable ultrasounds. Clarius offers the only app-based, wireless ultrasound scanner that can be taken to the point of care even in the most rugged conditions. The multi-purpose Clarius C3...