Biotech

A team of neuroscientists and engineers has developed a tiny, implantable device that has potential to help people with bladder problems bypass the need for medication or electronic stimulators. The team — from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern…

New developments in antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with antibiofilm properties are rapidly materializing. ABP works by inhibiting antibiotic resistant bacteria in the biofilm through nucleotide signaling molecules. Antimicrobial peptides and antibiofilm peptide (ABP) are new antibiotic molecules derived from microorganisms for the treatment of infections. The authors have discussed significance, limitations and trials of these antimicrobial…

A comfortable, wearable sensor could provide an easier way to diagnose developmental disabilities in small children. Harvard researchers have created a soft, non-toxic wearable sensor that attaches to the hand and measures the force of a grasp and the motion of the hand and fingers, key measurements in deciphering possible developmental problems. The key component…

Pulling off a Band-Aid may soon get a lot less painful. Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and Xi’an Jiaotong University in China have developed a new type of adhesive that can strongly adhere wet materials — such as hydrogel and living tissue — and be easily…

Savannah River National Laboratory, in collaboration with Clemson University, the University of South Carolina and Savannah River Consulting LLC, has demonstrated the use of electrochemical techniques to monitor the growth status and energy levels of microorganisms used in biotechnology industries. As published in a recent Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology Express article, the techniques monitor the…

Researchers from the Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) have found a new method for obtaining high-quality images in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), that requires less contrast medium compared to current methods. It is made possible by using an “elastic” protein structure that can absorb dissolved xenon in a self-regulating way: The greater the amount of…

Researchers from the Chalmers University of Technology have developed a new artificial joint that can restore wrist-like movements for those with amputated forearms. In the new system, an implant is placed into both the ulna and radius—the two forearm bones—with an artificial joint that acts as an interface between the two implants and the prosthetic…

Using a hair-thin optical fibre, the researchers can look into deep brain areas of a living mouse as if through a keyhole. Recently introduced methods for holographic control of light propagation in complex media enable the use of a multimode fibre as an imaging tool. Based on this new approach, the scientists designed a compact…

Purdue University researchers have developed a new flexible and translucent base for silicon nanoneedle patches to deliver exact doses of biomolecules directly into cells and expand observational opportunities. “This means that eight or nine silicon nanoneedles can be injected into a single cell without significantly damaging a cell. So we can use these nanoneedles to…

A new, wearable sensor is able to map out blood-oxygen levels from virtually anywhere on the body. A University of California Berkeley research team has created a flexible sensor comprised of organic electronics printed on bendable plastic that molds to the contours of the body. The new sensors could be used to map the oxygenation…

Rutgers scientists have created a tiny, biodegradable scaffold to transplant stem cells and deliver drugs, which may help treat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, aging brain degeneration, spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries. Stem cell transplantation, which shows promise as a treatment for central nervous system diseases, has been hampered by low cell survival rates,…

For innovation companies, highly differentiated and technologically advanced biobetters offer the greatest potential to mitigate the risks associated with the introduction of biosimilars, as they can be approved before the patent expires and have blockbuster potential.

IUPUI biologists are growing ‘mini retinas’ in the lab from stem cells to mimic the growth of the human retina. The researchers hope to use the research to restore sight when critical connections between the eye and the brain are damaged. These models also allow the researchers to better understand how cells in the retina…

Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin have developed a laser-based ray device that can change the size and shape of a block of gel-like material that has human or bacterial cells growing on it, an innovation that could help scientists understand how to someday grow replacement tissues and organs for implants. “To understand,…