Vesicular stomatitis virus, or VSV, has long been a model system for studying and understanding the life cycle of negative-strand RNA viruses. Research has shown that VSV has the potential to be genetically modified to serve as an anti-cancer agent - exercising high selectivity in killing...

A "metal foam" developed by North Carolina State University researchers could mean a new generation of biomedical implants that would avoid bone rejection that often results from more rigid implant materials, such as titanium. The metal foam is lighter than solid aluminum and can be made...

University of Michigan engineers have developed an artificial foot that recycles energy otherwise wasted in between steps, which could make it easier for amputees to walk. A typical prosthesis doesn't reproduce the force a living ankle exerts to push off of the ground. As a result, test subjects...

Using lasers and nanoparticles, Rice University scientists have discovered a new technique for singling out individual diseased cells and destroying them with tiny explosions. The scientists used lasers to make "nanobubbles" by zapping gold nanoparticles inside cells. "Single- cell targeting is one of the...

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have created a hydrogel that is more than 50 times stronger than comparable squishy self-healing materials. The hydrogel is made up of 95 percent water, making it suitable for applications in the body; it could someday serve as scaffolding for new...

University of Leeds scientists have developed a portable magnetometer that offers a new level of sensitivity to magnetic fluctuations useful for early detection of a number of conditions, including heart problems in fetuses.

Using new technology developed in his University of Oregon lab, chemist Andrew H. Marcus and his doctoral student, Eric N. Senning, have captured what they describe as well-orchestrated, actin-driven, mitochondrial movement within a single cell. That movement appears to be coordinated by mitochondria's recruitment of...

NASA's John H. Glenn Research Center has developed VESGEN, a newly automated, user interactive program that maps and quantifies the effects of vascular therapeutics and regulators on microvascular form and function. VESGEN analyzes two-dimensional, black and white vascular images by...

University of Florida engineers have designed and tested versions of a sensor that can diagnose and treat a variety of diseases, for example, by monitoring diabetics' glucose levels via their breath or detecting possible indicators of breast cancer in saliva. The sensor can be mass-produced inexpensively with technology currently used...

University of Florida urologists have used robot-assisted surgery to cut about 20 minutes off the average surgery time for conventional vasectomy reversal using a microscope.

Johns Hopkins University biomedical engineers, working with colleagues at Seoul National Laboratory in Korea, have produced a laboratory chip with nanoscopic grooves and ridges capable of growing cardiac tissue that more closely resembles natural heart muscle. The scientists say this chip could be used to design new...

Ophthalmic surgeons at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas are the first in the Defense Department to employ a state-of-the-art laser that will shorten recovery times for corneal transplantation. They are using a femtosecond laser to dissect human cornea tissue for cornea transplants or refractive surgery.

Johns Hopkins University researchers have developed biodegradable nanosized particles that can bypass the body's mucus secretions to deliver a sustained-release medication cargo. The nanoparticles, which degrade over time into harmless components, could someday be used to carry life-saving drugs to individuals suffering...

The speckFINDER HD from Dazor (St. Louis, MO) is a digital computer microscope designed with a flat panel digital display for training, instructing, or supervising. With three USB outputs and a video output, users can output files to a Flash drive or project live images to an overhead screen. The high-resolution,...

As a potential source of food for long-duration space missions, space-grown plants could give astronauts an important psychological boost, as fresh vegetables could serve as a welcomed change from reconstituted foods in plastic bags. Even more, these plants could likely aid in the recycling of air and...

Digital radiography makes use of Xray detectors that yield a radiographic image of the object or patient between the X-ray source and the detector. Tools have been developed to assess the image quality characteristics of radiation images. One tool is an edge phantom, placed between source and...

Oral mucosal drug delivery is an alternative method of systemic drug delivery that offers several advantages over both injectable and enteral methods. Since the oral mucosa is highly vascularised, drugs that are absorbed through the oral mucosa directly enter the systemic circulation,...

A novel analytical technology characterizes liquids for healthcare applications. As a drop of liquid evaporates on a vibrating quartz sensor, it undergoes distinctive phase changes representing the unique chemical and physical characteristics of the sample. This unique “fingerprint”...

A constant-force resistive exercise unit (CFREU) has been invented for use in both normal gravitational and microgravitational environments. In comparison with a typical conventional exercise machine, this CFREU weighs less and is less bulky: Whereas weight plates and associated bulky supporting structures...