Tag Archive for 'micro technology'

NanoPopcorn Targets, Cooks and Tracks Prostate Cancer Cells

Another week, another nano-prefixed word to add to the lexicon: NanoPopcorn. This one comes courtesy of researchers at Jackson State University in Mississippi who created a popcorn-shaped nanoparticle that can perform three separate tasks. First, it can detect as few as 50 prostate cancer cells, then it switches into thermal scalpel mode to cook the [...]

Hot Gold Nanoparticles Can Cook Cancer Cells

There are many possible ways to kill a cancer cell, and one of them is to cook them to death. There are nanoparticles worth their weight in gold to do just that. Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen are experimenting with tiny gold particles’ ability to melt the lipid membranes [...]

Nanotechnology Promises Big Benefits for Cancer Patients

A $145-million U.S. Federal Government effort to harness the power of nanotechnology to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer is producing innovations that will radically improve care for the disease. That’s the conclusion of an update on the status of the program, called the National Cancer Institute Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer. It [...]

First Genetic Link to Common Migraine Found

The results suggest that a buildup of that chemical, called glutamate, may play a role in the mechanism of migraines. An international scientific team has identified for the first time a genetic risk factor associated with common migraines and say their research could open the way for new treatments to prevent migraine attacks.

‘Nanotox’ Research also has Implications for Nano Drug Delivery

A relatively recent subgroup of nanotech research is what is beginning to be commonly referred to as “nanotox,” or the study of how nanoparticles react to the environment and human body. It is a line of inquiry that directly arose out of concerns that if engineered nanoscale particles have the potential to do great things [...]

Fastest Growing Therapeutic Classes (by Sales)

Oncologics, lipid regulators, respiratory agents, antidiabetics and anti-ulcerants are the five largest drug classes by sales. But annual sales are only half the story. Which drug classes are booming, and which have plateaued–or even dropped? IMS Health has released top-line industry data revealing the 15 largest drug classes, and we’ve crunched the numbers to take a closer [...]

New Spin on DNA Delivery: Enhanced Delivery Method of DNA Payloads into Cells

Chang Lu and his chemical engineering research group at Virginia Tech have discovered how to “greatly enhance” the delivery of DNA payloads into cells. The description of their work will be featured on the cover of Lab on a Chip, the premier journal for researchers in microfluidics. Lu’s ultimate goal is to apply this technique [...]

Scientists Grow New Lungs Using ‘Skeletons’ of Old Ones

For someone with a severe, incurable lung disorder such as cystic fibrosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a lung transplant may be the only chance for survival. Unfortunately, it’s often not a very good chance. Matching donor lungs are rare, and many would-be recipients die waiting for the transplants that could save their lives.

Synthetic Drug Users at Thirty to Forty Million

Drugs such as amphetamine-type stimulants and prescription medications are more and more what people are choosing according to the United Nations Drug Report for 2010. The number using such drugs will eventually exceed those using opiates and cocaine. Drug use in developed countries has remained relatively stable says the document. But in developing countries it [...]

Stem Cells Used to Create Abnormal Heart Cells

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have for the first time differentiated human stem cells to become heart cells with cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart muscle cells are abnormal. The discovery will allow scientists to learn how those heart cells become diseased and from there, they can begin developing drug therapies to [...]