Three-photon microscopy is an emerging imaging technique that scientists have been perfecting over the last few years. At MIT, this has led to the first ever look into the neural activity of the entire visual cortex of an awake mouse. The researchers were even able to view the neural activity in the subplate below the […]
Tag: Genetics
Advanced Wireless and Battery-Free Optogenetics Device to Control Neuronal Activation
Researchers at the University of Arizona have developed an advanced optogenetics device that can stimulate multiple areas of the brain at once and control the intensity of emitted light. The miniaturized device is wireless and battery-free, and the researchers hope that it will pave the way to treating severe neurological disorders and controlling chronic pain. […]
Electronic Nanomesh Gently Hugs Beating Heart Cells
Unlike with most other cells, studying the heart’s beating cardiomyocytes is prone to difficulty because attaching rigid sensors to moving cells hinders the movement of those cells. A collaboration of Japanese scientists at University of Tokyo, Tokyo Women’s Medical University, and RIKEN research institute have developed an extremely soft and flexible electronic mesh that can be intimately integrated […]
Implant Controls Overactive Bladder Using LED Lights
Today’s neurostimulators, such as those used to control chronic pain, bladder incontinence, and depression, use electricity to activate nerves. While very effective in many patients, electrical stimulation can lead to inflammation, produce unwanted sensations and pain, and injure fragile tissues. Optogenetics is an approach that offers an alternative, potentially safer option, that relies on light […]
Cellular Incubator for Implantation Into Body
Researchers at Tomsk State University and Siberian State Medical University in Russia have developed a new type of cell incubator that can be used to place lab-grown tissues into the body. The incubator is in the shape of a mesh made out of filaments of titanium nickelide (TiNi) that are only 25−40 μm, wound together using a […]
Fluorescent Molecular Sensor to Detect Metastatic Cancer Cells
Researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine have developed a molecular sensor that can spot metastatic cancer cells and measure how likely they’re to spread through the body. “Although there are many ways to detect metastasis once it has occurred, there has been nothing available to ‘see’ or ‘measure’ the potential of a tumor […]
Nanopore Sensor Exploits Artificial Intelligence for Specific Virus Detection
Researchers at Osaka University in Japan have developed a nanopore sensor to detect single influenza viral particles in a biological sample. The researchers used artificial intelligence to work out the “hallmarks” of the virus, which allowed them to identify it using the sensor. The technique has potential as a point-of-care diagnostic tool for influenza patients, […]
Nanome Looking for VR Folks to Help Complete Human Biome Map
Molecular scientists these days have tools at their disposal that allow to do quite incredible things. To use these tools to create new drugs and therapies, they need new ways to visualize and manipulate molecules using computers. Proteins are important subjects of study, as an understanding of their structure and how they fold and work […]
Tackling Alzheimer’s Biomarkers Using Machine Learning: Interview with IQuity CEO, Dr. Chase Spurlock
Losing one’s memories, and therefore one’s identity, must be a terrifying experience. With a global estimate of almost 50 million people living with dementia, predicted to rise to more than 130 million by 2050, the burden of Alzheimer’s and dementia are indisputable. While there are still no approved drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s, there […]
Point-of-Care BRCA1 Mutation Testing in 20 Minutes
BReast CAncer gene one (BRCA1) is one of the best-known genes linked to breast cancer risk. Unfortunately, the technology to spot the gene requires a lab and expertise at interpretation. Researchers at Louisiana State University have now developed a smartphone-based system called FLuoroZen that can test for the cancer-related BRCA1 mutation at the point-of-care within […]
23andMe’s Pharmacogenetic Test Approved by FDA
The FDA has just approved 23andMe’s Personal Genomic Service (PGS) Pharmacogenetic Reports. This marks the first direct-to-consumer test for pharmacogenetics of enzyme variants that may affect the way patients break down medications. Consumers collect their saliva into 23andMe’s testing kit, mail it to the company’s labs, and then receive the results via an online portal. […]
Microchip for Growing and Studying 3D Brain Mimics
Over the past few years, neuroscientists have been able to grow ever larger and more complex spheroid cultures and organoids that replicate the structure and functionality of brain tissue. While these models are significantly better at mimicking parts of the brain compared to 2D cultures, they are much more challenging to study because it’s hard […]
Vagus Nerve Stimulation to Reduce Post Surgical Brain Inflammation
Following a difficult surgery, some patients end up experiencing cognitive decline and delirium, which seems to arise from inflammatory changes in the brain, that are still poorly understood. This inflammation is difficult to control in a targeted way, but researchers at Duke University seem to have discovered that electrical nerve stimulation may do the trick. […]
New Efficient Method for Sequencing Epigenetic Modifications
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine have developed a new method for sequencing chemical groups attached to the surface of DNA. These chemical groups are modifications of the DNA bases that convey important information relating to the patterns of gene expression. These modifications have been studied for the past two decades and […]
Powerful New X-Ray Laser Images Biomolecules Like Never Before
At the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), a research center of the Helmholtz Association in Germany, a team of scientists working within the newly built European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Facility, have unveiled the structure of an enzyme involved in antibiotic resistance. While the finding is important in itself, it really validates a new instrument that will be critical […]
Smartphone App and Portable Lab Kit Can Rapidly Detect Pathogenic Bacteria
Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have developed a point-of-care diagnostic kit that can detect pathogenic bacteria in patient samples in as little as one hour. The technology is inexpensive and portable. It consists of a small box of basic lab equipment and a smartphone, that can achieve sensitive and specific identification of a variety of […]
Micro-Patterned Cell Culture Platform Reveals Unknown Cancer Behavior
Researchers at Hokkaido University have developed a micro-patterned cell culture platform to study the behavior of pancreatic cancer cells. The new cell culture substrate revealed previously unknown and clinically relevant pancreatic cell behaviors that could help researchers to develop new therapies. “Cancer studies so far either use cell cultures in which cancer cells don’t necessarily […]
“Spray-On Skin” from AVITA Medical Approved to Treat Serious Burns
AVITA Medical, a Valencia, California firm, won FDA approval for its remarkable RECELL Autologous Cell Harvesting Device for serious burns in adult patients. In preparation for treatment, a small healthy piece of the patient’s skin sample is taken, from which the so-called “Spray-On Skin” preparation is made. The process only takes 30 minutes, so it […]
Deep Convolutional Neural Network Identifies Lung Cancer Types from Biopsy Slices
Many of us think of artificial intelligence (AI) as computers mimicking humans in thinking and behavior. Thankfully, the reality is still very different and AI is more of an evolving tool that can tackle narrow tasks that humans are otherwise not good enough at. One of those tasks is looking at complex images of tissue […]
New Faster, Cheaper, Better Test Platform for Nucleic Acid Identification of Diseases
At the National University of Singapore, scientists have developed a portable, point-of-care nucleic acid test platform that can be used to diagnose a variety of diseases. It comes in the form of a cartridge that does not need to be kept refrigerated or handled specially in any other way and once used it provides results faster […]