Category: Technology & Devices
Powerful new antibiotic to fight deadly superbugs discovered by AI system
Medical science has always strived to stay ahead of bacteria as evolving antibiotic resistance could lead to a dismal future. Researchers at leading US universities – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard – have just identified a powerful new antibiotic called halicin, using an artificial intelligence (AI) model. The drug is effective against many […]
Synthetic Rubber: Medical care improved with silicones
Silicones, owing to their unique qualities, enhance the efficiency of advanced medical technologies, says Angelica Buan in this article. Today’s fast-paced lifestyle predisposes populations to a myriad of health conditions that often go unchecked until it’s too late. Debilitating conditions can have a massive impact on a patient’s quality of life. But with today’s advances […]
Acute respiratory distress syndrome: asymmetrical membranes to the rescue
Patients suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) may need to be ventilated artificially in emergency situations. Here, medical professionals use a heart-lung machine to perform extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) – it involves taking and enriching blood from the body with oxygen and removing carbon dioxide using a membrane oxygenator, then reintroducing the blood back […]
Aussie scientists report exciting pain relief breakthrough using human stem cells
Hoping to offer a safer and less addictive alternative to opioid-based pain relievers, scientists at the University of Sydney have demonstrated the viability of a new type of pain-blocking neuron derived from human stem cells for the first time. The scientists were working on neuropathic pain – referring to the sensitivity/pain felt from harmless stimuli […]
Long, damaged nerves can be regrown with new polymer-protein technology
In the US, nerve damage affects more than 20 million people, including wounded soldiers and unfortunate civilians. Often, if a damaged nerve section is longer than a third of an inch, the nerve can’t regrow to its target and gets knotted into a painful ball called a neuroma – significantly compromising sensation and motor function. […]
New Swiss tech keeps livers alive outside the body, rejuvenates damaged livers for transplant
A group of surgeons, biologists and engineers from Zurich, Switzerland, have developed a new machine that can keep donor livers alive outside the body for up to a week. The new perfusion machine’s primary function is to preserve organs set for transplantation by feeding them oxygen and nutrients, but can also restore damaged livers to […]
Google AI system found to identify breast cancer more accurately than radiologists
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK – about one in seven women in the UK develops breast cancer during their lifetime, contributing to around 55,000 diagnoses every year, according to Cancer Research UK. There could soon be a tool to “support” radiologists performing breast cancer screenings, as an artificial intelligence (AI) […]
Tooth-on-a-chip device enables better dental observation of cavities
Yet another organ-on-a-chip device – used in medical settings to gauge how a full organ might react to medication or toxins – has been developed by scientists at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), US. This time, the world’s first tooth-on-a chip shows how a cavity in a tooth allows the entry of bacteria […]
Life-saving injectable magnetic fluid could staunch blood loss
In treating most accident victims, first responders struggle to control bleeding especially with deep or wide open wounds – a team at America’s Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), led by Yonatan Tekleab, have designed a magnetic fluid that can effectively do this. The magnetorheological suspension is liquid with tiny magnetic particles which will instantly solidify […]
Fibrous membrane designed in Switzerland to protect heart pacemakers
As useful as pacemakers may be, they do need to be surgically replaced every few years and may sport a layer of fibrous tissue on its surface by then, which could complicate the removal process, risk infections and so on. However, scientists from the Swiss ETH Zurich Research Institute (ETH Zurich) have designed a new […]
