The ultrathin films are able to be injected using minimally-invasive syringe needles and can be used as a platform to deliver molecular and cellular drugs. The use of shape-memory polymer also enables unprecedented temperature-dependent control. SINGAPORE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN Syringe-injectable biomaterials, medical devices and engineered tissues have attracted great attention as minimally-invasive implants...
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Implantable cancer traps could provide earlier diagnosis, help monitor treatment
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ANN ARBOR–Invasive procedures to biopsy tissue from cancer-tainted organs could be replaced by simply taking samples from a tiny “decoy” implanted just beneath the skin, University of Michigan researchers have demonstrated in mice. These devices have a knack for attracting cancer cells traveling through the body. In fact, they can even pick...
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Alzheimer’s subtypes could affect future treatments, Mayo Clinic researchers find
MAYO CLINIC JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Despite decades of scientific scrutiny, Alzheimer’s disease researchers have yet to work out its cause or treatment. Understanding what underlies its three distinct subtypes is thought to be a promising new research avenue. In a new study in JAMA Neurology, a team of neuroscientists at Mayo Clinic in Florida led...
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Research shows that early retirement can accelerate cognitive decline
BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – Early retirement can accelerate cognitive decline among the elderly, according to research conducted by faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York. Plamen Nikolov, assistant professor of economics, and Alan Adelman, a doctoral student in economics, examined China’s New Rural Pension Scheme (NRPS) and the Chinese Health and Retirement...
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Wearable activity trackers a reliable tool for predicting death risk in older adults
JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICINE A federally funded study by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers shows that wearable accelerometers — mechanical sensors worn like a watch, belt or bracelet to track movement — are a more reliable measure of physical activity and better than patient surveys and other methods used by physicians at assessing five-year risk of death in older adults. The research also added to evidence that an accurate...
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Hope offered to patients with a rare autoimmune condition
NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY A new study has shed light on a debilitating autoimmune condition by identifying a number of sub types of the disease which could lead to personalized treatment for patients. For the first time, scientists at Newcastle University, UK, have found there are at least four versions of primary Sjögren’s syndrome (PSS) – a...
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Get moving: Exercise can help lower older women’s fracture risk
by Amy Norton, Healthday Reporter (HealthDay)—Older women who get even light exercise, like a daily walk, may lower their risk of suffering a broken hip, a large study suggests. A number of studies have linked regular exercise to a lower risk of hip fracture—a potentially disabling or even fatal injury for older adults. Each year,...
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Hot drinks are the most common cause of burns to young children
New research has shown that hot drink scalds were the commonest cause of children under five presenting to emergency departments and that only one in four children received adequate first aid before getting to the hospital. These two key findings have led to the design of a national campaign called SafeTea launched, National Burns Awareness...
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Researchers discover new genetic brain disease
by University of Manchester Manchester researchers have contributed towards the discovery of a genetic brain disease which can cause paraplegia and epilepsy in sufferers. Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSP) are a group of genetic disorders that cause weakness and stiffness in the leg muscles. Generally symptoms gradually get worse over time, and severely affected patients are...
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The amazing influence of gut microbes in our immune system
by Particle Could autoimmune and allergic conditions like Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis or type 1 diabetes one day be treated with microbes in your gut? Inside your gut is a collective of bacteria, fungi and viruses known as the gut microbiota. Amazingly, they start to develop immediately after we’re born. With our mother’s bacteria quickly...