An experimental "Trojan-horse" cancer therapy has completely eliminated prostate cancer in experiments on mice, according to UK researchers.
The team hid cancer killing viruses inside the immune system in order to sneak them into a tumour.
Once inside, a study in the journal Cancer Research showed, tens of thousands of viruses were released to kill the cancerous cells.
Using viruses to destroy rapidly growing tumours is an emerging field in cancer therapy, however one of the challenges is getting the viruses deep inside the tumour where they can do the damage.
"The problem is penetration," Prof Claire Lewis from the University of Sheffield told the BBC. She leads a team which uses white blood cells as 'Trojan horses' to deliver the viral punch.
Dr Kate Holmes, head of research at Prostate Cancer UK, said: "It demonstrates that this innovative method of delivering a tumour-killing virus direct to the cancer site is successful at reducing the development of advanced prostate tumours which have been treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
"If this treatment goes on to be successful in human trials, it could mark substantial progress in finding better treatments for men with prostate cancer which has spread to the bone."
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20795977
Friday, December 21, 2012
Flexible, light solar cells could provide new opportunities
The new approach is detailed in a report published in the journal Nano Letters, co-authored by MIT postdocs Hyesung Park and Sehoon Chang, associate professor of materials science and engineering Silvija Gradečak, and eight other MIT researchers.
While most of today’s solar cells are made of silicon, these remain expensive because the silicon is generally highly purified and then made into crystals that are sliced thin. Many researchers are exploring alternatives, such as nanostructured or hybrid solar cells; indium tin oxide (ITO) is used as a transparent electrode in these new solar cells.
The new material, Gradečak says, may be an alternative to ITO. In addition to its lower cost, it provides other advantages, including flexibility, low weight, mechanical strength and chemical robustness.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Astellas Pharma Releases Phase II Data For Leukemia Drug
Approximately 50 percent of FLT3-ITD positive AML patients achieved complete remission with Astellas Pharma’s new investigational drug, according to Phase II data results.
Quizartinib (AC220) is an orally bioavailable FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3) inhibitor being developed in collaboration between Ambit Biosciences Corporation and Astellas Pharma Inc. as an oral monotherapy treatment regimen in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Data from two study cohorts were presented at the American Society of Haematology (ASH) meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.
Quizartinib (AC220) is an orally bioavailable FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3) inhibitor being developed in collaboration between Ambit Biosciences Corporation and Astellas Pharma Inc. as an oral monotherapy treatment regimen in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Data from two study cohorts were presented at the American Society of Haematology (ASH) meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.
Tuesday, December 04, 2012
Stem cells being made from blood
A patient's own blood has been used to make personalised stem cells, which doctors hope will eventually be used to treat a range of diseases.
The team at the University of Cambridge says this could be one of the easiest and safest sources of stem cells.
In a study, published in the journal Stem Cells: Translational Medicine, the cells were used to build blood vessels. However, experts cautioned that the safety of using such stem cells was still unclear.
Stem cells are one of the great hopes of medical research. They can transform into any other type of cell the body is built from - so they should be able to repair everything from the brain to the heart, and eyes to bone.
The team at Cambridge looked in blood samples for a type of repair cell that whizzes through the bloodstream repairing any damage to the walls of blood vessels. These were then converted into stem cells.
Dr Amer Rana said this method was better than taking samples from skin.
Prof Chris Mason, an expert on regenerative medicine at University College London, said there was some "beautiful work" coming out of the lab in Cambridge.
The British Heart Foundation said these cells had "great potential".
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20539835
The team at the University of Cambridge says this could be one of the easiest and safest sources of stem cells.
In a study, published in the journal Stem Cells: Translational Medicine, the cells were used to build blood vessels. However, experts cautioned that the safety of using such stem cells was still unclear.
Stem cells are one of the great hopes of medical research. They can transform into any other type of cell the body is built from - so they should be able to repair everything from the brain to the heart, and eyes to bone.
The team at Cambridge looked in blood samples for a type of repair cell that whizzes through the bloodstream repairing any damage to the walls of blood vessels. These were then converted into stem cells.
Dr Amer Rana said this method was better than taking samples from skin.
Prof Chris Mason, an expert on regenerative medicine at University College London, said there was some "beautiful work" coming out of the lab in Cambridge.
The British Heart Foundation said these cells had "great potential".
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20539835
Monday, November 26, 2012
Faulty Cell Cycle Brakes Linked To Breast Cancer
When a cell proliferates out of control, it is usually because it loses control at a cell cycle checkpoint – the ‘fail-safe brakes’ of the cell.
One key checkpoint protein is p21, a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CKI) that gives the ‘all signals go’ for DNA synthesis to take place.
Dr. Sameer Phalke and colleagues at the A*STAR Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) recently discovered a protein that acts as an oncogene in breast cancer by repressing p21 expression, thereby promoting growth and preventing the senescence of breast cancer cells1.
Suppression of PRMT6 expression in breast cancer cells led to cell cycle arrest, cellular senescence, and reduced growth in soft agar assays. Similar experiments in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice resulted in slower growing tumors.
Source: http://www.asianscientist.com/health-medicine/prmt6-suppression-linked-to-breast-cancer-2012/
One key checkpoint protein is p21, a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CKI) that gives the ‘all signals go’ for DNA synthesis to take place.
Dr. Sameer Phalke and colleagues at the A*STAR Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) recently discovered a protein that acts as an oncogene in breast cancer by repressing p21 expression, thereby promoting growth and preventing the senescence of breast cancer cells1.
Suppression of PRMT6 expression in breast cancer cells led to cell cycle arrest, cellular senescence, and reduced growth in soft agar assays. Similar experiments in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice resulted in slower growing tumors.
Source: http://www.asianscientist.com/health-medicine/prmt6-suppression-linked-to-breast-cancer-2012/
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Unmanned aircraft project leads push to civilian drones
The aim of the ASTRAEA programme is to enable the routine use of UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) in all classes of airspace without the need for restrictive or specialised conditions of operation.
A recent report by the UK's Aerospace, Aviation and Defence Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) found that applications for unmanned aircraft are said to be worth some £260bn - replacing costly or dangerous work done by manned planes, or opening up new applications that are currently out of reach.
Crop or wildlife stock monitoring, search and rescue, and check-ups on railway lines are some of the envisioned uses of UAs.
Plans for UAs envision that a pilot will always be on the ground controlling them, but they must have on-board technology that can perform in an emergency - in the eyes of aviation law - as well as a pilot.
"These things are going to have a level of self-determinism, particularly if you ever lose the communication link with the ground control," said Lambert Dopping-Hepenstal, Astraea project director. "They've got to be able to operate fully safely and take the right decisions.
Gary Clayton, head of research and technology for EADS Cassidian, another project partner, said the CAA's publication CAP722 is being held up internationally as a template for aviation legislation around UAs.
But Mr Dopping-Hepenstal said the project is aiming much further than the technology and safety legislation.
"What this programme is trying to do is look at this holistically," he said. "It's not just the technology, we're trying to think about the social impact of this and the ethical and legal things associated with it. You've got to solve all this lot if you're going to make it happen, enable it to happen affordably."
Chris Elliot, an aerospace engineer and barrister, is acting as consultant to the project. He told reporters that the licensing and privacy questions were points "to debate, not to pontificate".
Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20327991
http://www.astraea.aero/
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Borneo Tree Is Source Of Potential Anticancer Agent, Silvestrol
A Malaysian research center and a leading US university are joining forces to speed up the development and commercialization of a promising anti-cancer agent derived from a tropical tree.
The agent, silvestrol, is a natural compound derived from the twigs, fruit, and bark of the Aglaia species of tree, found in central Borneo, Indonesia, Malaysia, and some Pacific islands.
It has been used as a traditional medicine in Malaysia for many years, usually to treat digestive disorders, but never as a cancer therapy.
Researchers from Ohio State University, who have been working on silvestrol since 2004, discovered that silvestrol kills cancer cells in mice, possibly paving the way to treatment for human cancers in the near future.
Alan Douglas Kinghorn, a senior researcher at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, and leading silvestrol specialist, who gave the compound its name, says silvestrol has shown “very good initial results in models of B-cell malignancies, such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia and mantle cell lymphoma.”
Silvestrol was also found to inhibit the growth of lung, breast, and prostate cancer cells, and appears to cause no damage to normal immune system cells — a common problem with current cancer treatments for leukemia.
Kinghorn explained that silvestrol acts as a “translation inhibitor,” meaning it interferes with cancer cell multiplication. “This works in cancer cells by slowing their growth by disrupting processes that lead to the generation of new proteins,” he explained.
The team are currently doing tests on animals and models, and hope to start clinical trials in humans in three to four years.
To expedite further research and development of silvestrol, the State of Ohio signed an agreement with the Malaysian-run Sarawak Biodiversity Center (SBC), giving the university the rights to SBC’s patent on silvestrol.
The agent, silvestrol, is a natural compound derived from the twigs, fruit, and bark of the Aglaia species of tree, found in central Borneo, Indonesia, Malaysia, and some Pacific islands.
It has been used as a traditional medicine in Malaysia for many years, usually to treat digestive disorders, but never as a cancer therapy.
Researchers from Ohio State University, who have been working on silvestrol since 2004, discovered that silvestrol kills cancer cells in mice, possibly paving the way to treatment for human cancers in the near future.
Alan Douglas Kinghorn, a senior researcher at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, and leading silvestrol specialist, who gave the compound its name, says silvestrol has shown “very good initial results in models of B-cell malignancies, such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia and mantle cell lymphoma.”
Silvestrol was also found to inhibit the growth of lung, breast, and prostate cancer cells, and appears to cause no damage to normal immune system cells — a common problem with current cancer treatments for leukemia.
Kinghorn explained that silvestrol acts as a “translation inhibitor,” meaning it interferes with cancer cell multiplication. “This works in cancer cells by slowing their growth by disrupting processes that lead to the generation of new proteins,” he explained.
The team are currently doing tests on animals and models, and hope to start clinical trials in humans in three to four years.
To expedite further research and development of silvestrol, the State of Ohio signed an agreement with the Malaysian-run Sarawak Biodiversity Center (SBC), giving the university the rights to SBC’s patent on silvestrol.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Stroke Survivors Use Robotic Arm To Regain Limb Function
Sensory-Motor Active Rehabilitation Training Arm (SMART Arm) is a device developed by researchers from The University of Queensland and James Cook University.
The device enables stroke survivors with upper limb weakness to drive their own rehabilitation through feedback on performance via an interactive computer program and incremental increases in load and reaching range.
“SMART Arm is one of the few interventions shown to result in positive changes in neural plasticity in people with severe paralysis after chronic stroke, so we’re very keen to see the device become available to as many as possible, as soon as possible,” Brauer said.
“There is evidence that the brain has greater capacity for plasticity early following stroke, so we are undertaking a trial of SMART Arm training in patients who have just had a stroke, to take advantage of an optimal window for neural recovery."
SMART Arm Pty Ltd has been formed as a partnership between Townsville Mackay Medicare Local (TMML), UQ, and JCU to further develop, manufacture and market the technology following an investment from TMML.
On the hunt for rare cancer cells
Tumor cells circulating in a patient’s bloodstream can yield a great deal of information on how a tumor is responding to treatment and what drugs might be more effective against it. But first, these rare cells have to be captured and isolated from the many other cells found in a blood sample.
Many scientists are now working on microfluidic devices that can isolate circulating tumor cells (CTCs), but most of these have two major limitations: It takes too long to process a sufficient amount of blood, and there is no good way to extract cancer cells for analysis after their capture.
A new device from researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital overcomes those obstacles. Inspired by the tentacles of a jellyfish, the team coated a microfluidic channel with long strands of DNA that grab specific proteins found on the surfaces of leukemia cells as they flow by. Using this strategy, the researchers achieved flow rates 10 times higher than existing devices — fast enough to make the systems practical for clinical use.
Using this technology, described in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, doctors could monitor cancer patients to determine whether their treatment is working.
“If you had a rapid test that could tell you whether there are more or less of these cells over time, that would help to monitor the progression of therapy and progression of the disease,” says Jeff Karp, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-director of the Center for Regenerative Therapeutics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
The new technology grew out of a collaboration between Karp’s lab and that of Rohit Karnik, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. Lead authors of the paper are Weian Zhao, a former postdoc in Karp’s lab and now an assistant professor at the University of California at Irvine; Cheryl Cui, a graduate student in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology; and Suman Bose, a graduate student in Karnik’s lab.
The researchers are now working on adapting the DNA strands to target other molecules, such as receptors found on the surfaces of cells dislodged from solid tumors.
The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Source: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/capturing-rare-cancer-cells-1112.html
Many scientists are now working on microfluidic devices that can isolate circulating tumor cells (CTCs), but most of these have two major limitations: It takes too long to process a sufficient amount of blood, and there is no good way to extract cancer cells for analysis after their capture.
A new device from researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital overcomes those obstacles. Inspired by the tentacles of a jellyfish, the team coated a microfluidic channel with long strands of DNA that grab specific proteins found on the surfaces of leukemia cells as they flow by. Using this strategy, the researchers achieved flow rates 10 times higher than existing devices — fast enough to make the systems practical for clinical use.
Using this technology, described in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, doctors could monitor cancer patients to determine whether their treatment is working.
“If you had a rapid test that could tell you whether there are more or less of these cells over time, that would help to monitor the progression of therapy and progression of the disease,” says Jeff Karp, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-director of the Center for Regenerative Therapeutics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
The new technology grew out of a collaboration between Karp’s lab and that of Rohit Karnik, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. Lead authors of the paper are Weian Zhao, a former postdoc in Karp’s lab and now an assistant professor at the University of California at Irvine; Cheryl Cui, a graduate student in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology; and Suman Bose, a graduate student in Karnik’s lab.
The researchers are now working on adapting the DNA strands to target other molecules, such as receptors found on the surfaces of cells dislodged from solid tumors.
The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Source: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/capturing-rare-cancer-cells-1112.html
Monday, November 12, 2012
First liver cancer 'chemo-bath' in the UK
A "chemo-bath" which delivers toxic cancer drugs to just one organ in the body has been used on patients in the UK for the first time, say doctors.
Two patients in the UK have now received chemotherapy focused on just their liver. Both had a rare eye cancer which had spread to the liver.
The operation works by inflating balloons inside blood vessels on either side of the liver to isolate it from the rest of the body. The liver is then pumped full of chemotherapy drugs, which are filtered out before the liver is reconnected to the main blood supply. It means only a tiny fraction of the chemotherapy dose ends up in the body.
Dr Stedman told the BBC: "In 20 years' time the idea of injecting a drug which poisons the whole body for a cancer in just one small area will seem bonkers."
He suggested that any organ which could be easily separated from the blood supply, such as the kidney, pancreas and lungs, would be suitable for this kind of approach. The technique is also being tested in the US and elsewhere in Europe.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-20270400
Doctors at Southampton General Hospital believe targeting just one organ can prevent side effects. They also say it means they can give higher doses without causing damage to the patient.
Two patients in the UK have now received chemotherapy focused on just their liver. Both had a rare eye cancer which had spread to the liver.
The operation works by inflating balloons inside blood vessels on either side of the liver to isolate it from the rest of the body. The liver is then pumped full of chemotherapy drugs, which are filtered out before the liver is reconnected to the main blood supply. It means only a tiny fraction of the chemotherapy dose ends up in the body.
Dr Stedman told the BBC: "In 20 years' time the idea of injecting a drug which poisons the whole body for a cancer in just one small area will seem bonkers."
He suggested that any organ which could be easily separated from the blood supply, such as the kidney, pancreas and lungs, would be suitable for this kind of approach. The technique is also being tested in the US and elsewhere in Europe.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-20270400
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
One test may 'find many cancers'
Targeting just one chemical inside cancerous cells could one day lead to a single test for a broad range of cancers, researchers say. The same system could then be used to deliver precision radiotherapy.
Scientists told the National Cancer Research Institute conference they had been able to find breast cancer in mice weeks before a lump had been detected.
The team, at the Gray Institute for Radiation Oncology and Biology at Oxford University, were looking for a protein, called gamma-H2AX, which is produced in response to damaged DNA. This tends to be one of the first steps on the road to a cell becoming cancerous.
The scientists used an antibody that is the perfect partner to gamma-H2AX and able to seek it out in the body. This was turned into a cancer test by attaching small amounts of radioactive material to the antibody. If the radiation gathered in one place it would be a sign of a potential tumour.
The researchers trialled the test on genetically modified mice, which are highly susceptible to forming tumours.
Prof Katherine Vallis said lumps could be felt when the mice were about 120 days old, but "we detected changes prior to that at 90 to 100 days - before a tumour is clinically apparent".
Prof Vallis said "it is attracted to DNA damage", where it then delivers a dose of radiation, causing more damage and attracting even more antibodies - it is a "self-amplifying system". Eventually the doses of radiation should do so much damage to the cancerous cells that they would be killed.
Dr Julie Sharp, from Cancer Research UK, said: "This important study reveals that targeting this key molecule could provide an exciting route for new ways to detect cancer at an earlier stage - and help to deliver radiotherapy and monitor its effect on tumours."
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20179560
Scientists told the National Cancer Research Institute conference they had been able to find breast cancer in mice weeks before a lump had been detected.
The team, at the Gray Institute for Radiation Oncology and Biology at Oxford University, were looking for a protein, called gamma-H2AX, which is produced in response to damaged DNA. This tends to be one of the first steps on the road to a cell becoming cancerous.
The scientists used an antibody that is the perfect partner to gamma-H2AX and able to seek it out in the body. This was turned into a cancer test by attaching small amounts of radioactive material to the antibody. If the radiation gathered in one place it would be a sign of a potential tumour.
The researchers trialled the test on genetically modified mice, which are highly susceptible to forming tumours.
Prof Katherine Vallis said lumps could be felt when the mice were about 120 days old, but "we detected changes prior to that at 90 to 100 days - before a tumour is clinically apparent".
Prof Vallis said "it is attracted to DNA damage", where it then delivers a dose of radiation, causing more damage and attracting even more antibodies - it is a "self-amplifying system". Eventually the doses of radiation should do so much damage to the cancerous cells that they would be killed.
Dr Julie Sharp, from Cancer Research UK, said: "This important study reveals that targeting this key molecule could provide an exciting route for new ways to detect cancer at an earlier stage - and help to deliver radiotherapy and monitor its effect on tumours."
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20179560
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Cheap colour test picks up HIV and cancer
A cheap test which could detect even low levels of viruses and some cancers has been developed by UK researchers.
The colour of a liquid changes to give either a positive or negative result. The designers from Imperial College London say the device could lead to more widespread testing for HIV and other diseases in parts of the world where other methods are unaffordable.
Early testing showed the presence of markers of HIV and prostate cancer could be detected. However, trials on a much larger scale will be needed before it could be used clinically. The prototype, which needs wider testing, is described in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
Prof Molly Stevens told the BBC: "This method should be used when the presence of a target molecule at ultra-low concentration could improve the diagnosis of disease.
The researchers expect their design will cost 10 times less than current tests. They say this will be important in countries where the only options are unaffordable.
Fellow researcher Dr Roberto de la Rica said: "This test could be significantly cheaper to administer, which could pave the way for more widespread use of HIV testing in poorer parts of the world."
The colour of a liquid changes to give either a positive or negative result. The designers from Imperial College London say the device could lead to more widespread testing for HIV and other diseases in parts of the world where other methods are unaffordable.
Early testing showed the presence of markers of HIV and prostate cancer could be detected. However, trials on a much larger scale will be needed before it could be used clinically. The prototype, which needs wider testing, is described in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
Prof Molly Stevens told the BBC: "This method should be used when the presence of a target molecule at ultra-low concentration could improve the diagnosis of disease.
The researchers expect their design will cost 10 times less than current tests. They say this will be important in countries where the only options are unaffordable.
Fellow researcher Dr Roberto de la Rica said: "This test could be significantly cheaper to administer, which could pave the way for more widespread use of HIV testing in poorer parts of the world."
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Chinese 'Thunder God' plant could crush cancer
Scientists believe a plant used for centuries in Chinese medicine may offer a cure for the pancreatic cancer that afflicted Apple talisman Steve Jobs and many others worldwide each year.
Boffins from University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center have been testing Minnelide, a drug extracted from the lei gong ten or ‘thunder god vine’ (Tripterygium wilfordii) and presented their results in the Science Translational Medicine on Thursday. For those in the know, Minnelide is a water soluble form of triptolide, a diterpenoid.
When tested on mice it was found to be “highly effective in reducing pancreatic tumour growth” and “shows promise as a potent chemotherapeutic agent against pancreatic cancer”, according to the research.
“This drug is just unbelievably potent in killing tumor cells,” Ashok Saluja, vice chairman of research at the centre, told Bloomberg.
Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/18/boffins_cure_pancreatic_cancer_chinese_medicine_thunder_god/
Boffins from University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center have been testing Minnelide, a drug extracted from the lei gong ten or ‘thunder god vine’ (Tripterygium wilfordii) and presented their results in the Science Translational Medicine on Thursday. For those in the know, Minnelide is a water soluble form of triptolide, a diterpenoid.
When tested on mice it was found to be “highly effective in reducing pancreatic tumour growth” and “shows promise as a potent chemotherapeutic agent against pancreatic cancer”, according to the research.
“This drug is just unbelievably potent in killing tumor cells,” Ashok Saluja, vice chairman of research at the centre, told Bloomberg.
Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/18/boffins_cure_pancreatic_cancer_chinese_medicine_thunder_god/
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Robots: Can biohybrid model sink or swim?
Frankel is now using the same approach to build the robot’s chemical sensors, working with Christopher Voigt, a biological engineer at MIT, to engineer hamster cells that give off nitric oxide in the presence of certain chemical compounds. The release of nitric oxide will allow the modified mammalian cells to communicate with Cyberplasm’s electronic “brain”.
The micro-robot, dubbed “Cyberplasm” could then perform hazardous underwater tasks, such as looking for submerged mines, and explore worlds inaccessible to humans.
Source: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20121010-sink-or-swim-for-biohybrid-robot
Link: http://cyberplasm.net/
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
Bee brains help to make robots smarter
The way that bees smell and see is being studied in a £1m project to produce a simulation of the insect's sensory systems. The simulated bee brain will then be used by a flying robot to help it make decisions about how to navigate safely.
The researchers, which involves scientists from the Universities of Sheffield and Sussex, aims to create models of the neural systems in a bee's brain that helps it make sense of what it sees and smells. Dr James Marshall, a computer scientist at the University of Sheffield co-ordinating the project, said simulating a brain was one of the "major challenges" of artificial intelligence.
Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19799806
Monday, September 24, 2012
Airship
In a hangar outside Tustin in California, engineers are preparing one of the most radical designs for testing. The Aeroscraft, as it is known, is the brainchild of Igor Pasternak and has been made possible by advances in materials and computer control systems.
“We are resurrecting [the airship] with new composite fabric structures, that are stronger, lighter, more versatile” says Fred Edworthy, of Aeros, the company building the lighter-than-air vehicle.
Assuming they pass their flight tests, which will begin later this year, the big question is whether anyone will choose to fly in them. For all of their cutting edge design and elegance, they will still only travel at about quarter of the speed of a passenger jet.
“It will be slower than a 747 [plane] at approximately 110 knots (approx 200km/h) cruising speed,” admits Edworthy. “But it would be the event of ‘getting there’ rather than how quickly you get there.”
Source: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120921-lighter-than-air-craft-rises
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Faster Internet Everywhere Always
Vern Fotheringham is CEO of Kymeta, which was recently spun out of Intellectual Ventures to commercialize a novel satellite antenna that could bring broadband access anywhere on earth, and for considerably cheaper than existing technologies. We caught up with Fotheringham to learn how you get better Wi-Fi on an airplane, what invisibility and connectivity have in common, and why our YouTube videos still frustratingly stall on our smartphones.Kymeta’s mTennaTM products will simplify the connection between mobile users and high capacity Ka-band communications satellites, allowing passengers on planes, trains, boats, automobiles and other vehicles to enjoy the same kind of broadband experience that they already have at home or in the office.
Kymeta is working on a wide range of innovative and highly competitive products, including: Portable Satellite Hotspot (PSH) Laptop-sized, transportable end-user terminals delivered to customers via established and specialized distributors.
Source:
http://www.fastcompany.com/3000807/faster-internet-everywhere-always?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fastcompany%2Fheadlines+(Fast+Company)
http://www.kymetacorp.com/
Vitamin B3 'helps kill superbugs'
Vitamin B3 could be the new weapon in the fight against superbugs such as MRSA, researchers have suggested.
US experts found B3, also known as nicotinamide, boosts the ability of immune cells to kill Staphylococcus bacteria. B3 increases the numbers and efficacy of neutrophils, white blood cells that can kill and eat harmful bugs. The study, in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, could lead to a "major change in treatment", a UK expert said.
The scientists used extremely high doses of B3 - far higher than that obtained from dietary sources - in their tests, carried out both on animals and on human blood.
Prof Adrian Gombart, of Oregon State University's Linus Pauling Institute, who worked on the research, said: "This is potentially very significant, although we still need to do human studies.
"Antibiotics are wonder drugs, but they face increasing problems with resistance by various types of bacteria, especially Staphylococcus aureus. "This could give us a new way to treat Staph infections that can be deadly, and might be used in combination with current antibiotics. "It's a way to tap into the power of the innate immune system and stimulate it to provide a more powerful and natural immune response."
Prof Mark Enright, of the University of Bath, said: "Neutrophils are really the front line against infections in the blood and the use of nicotinamide seems safe at this dose to use in patients as it is already licensed for use.
"This could cause a major change in treatment for infections alongside conventional antibiotics to help bolster patients immune system.
"I would like to see in patient clinical trials but cannot see why this couldn't be used straight away in infected patients."
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19367277
US experts found B3, also known as nicotinamide, boosts the ability of immune cells to kill Staphylococcus bacteria. B3 increases the numbers and efficacy of neutrophils, white blood cells that can kill and eat harmful bugs. The study, in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, could lead to a "major change in treatment", a UK expert said.
The scientists used extremely high doses of B3 - far higher than that obtained from dietary sources - in their tests, carried out both on animals and on human blood.
Prof Adrian Gombart, of Oregon State University's Linus Pauling Institute, who worked on the research, said: "This is potentially very significant, although we still need to do human studies.
"Antibiotics are wonder drugs, but they face increasing problems with resistance by various types of bacteria, especially Staphylococcus aureus. "This could give us a new way to treat Staph infections that can be deadly, and might be used in combination with current antibiotics. "It's a way to tap into the power of the innate immune system and stimulate it to provide a more powerful and natural immune response."
Prof Mark Enright, of the University of Bath, said: "Neutrophils are really the front line against infections in the blood and the use of nicotinamide seems safe at this dose to use in patients as it is already licensed for use.
"This could cause a major change in treatment for infections alongside conventional antibiotics to help bolster patients immune system.
"I would like to see in patient clinical trials but cannot see why this couldn't be used straight away in infected patients."
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19367277
Monday, August 27, 2012
'Clot nets' help stroke recovery
Using small nets to extract blood clots from patients' brains may be the future of stroke care, according to two studies. Clots block blood vessels, starving parts of the brain of oxygen, which leads to symptoms such as paralysis and loss of speech. Two studies, presented in the Lancet medical journal, suggest extracting clots with nets could improve recovery.
Two similar devices were compared with the current coil methods. One trial of 113 patients showed 58% had good brain function after three months, compared with 33% of those treated with the coil method, as well as a lower death rate. Another study in 178 patients showed almost double the chance of living independently after treatment.
One of the researchers involved, Prof Jeffrey Saver from the University of California, Los Angeles, told the BBC that these techniques would become more common, as they are more likely to clear clots than drugs.
"Clot-busting drugs only partially reopen 40% of large blocked arteries. These devices partially reopen 70-90% of large blocked arteries. "Second, these devices can be used in patients in whom it is not safe to give 'clot busting' drugs, such as patients taking anticoagulant medications, patients who had recent surgery, and patients who are between 4.5 to eight hours after stroke onset." In the long term he can see drugs being used as a first option and then clot removal if the drugs fail or cannot be used.
Responding to the research, the Stoke Association's Dr Clare Walton said clot-busters did not work for all patients so new techniques could help many patients. She added: "Clot retrieval devices have the potential to be used with more stroke patients and are better at removing blood clots than clot-busting drugs. "We are very excited about this potential new treatment and look forward to further developments." Dr Philip Gorelick, from Michigan State University, said the studies were "major steps forward in the successful treatment of acute ischaemic stroke, and pave the way for new treatment options". The research was published to coincide with a European Society of Cardiology meeting in Munich.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19355202
Two similar devices were compared with the current coil methods. One trial of 113 patients showed 58% had good brain function after three months, compared with 33% of those treated with the coil method, as well as a lower death rate. Another study in 178 patients showed almost double the chance of living independently after treatment.
One of the researchers involved, Prof Jeffrey Saver from the University of California, Los Angeles, told the BBC that these techniques would become more common, as they are more likely to clear clots than drugs.
"Clot-busting drugs only partially reopen 40% of large blocked arteries. These devices partially reopen 70-90% of large blocked arteries. "Second, these devices can be used in patients in whom it is not safe to give 'clot busting' drugs, such as patients taking anticoagulant medications, patients who had recent surgery, and patients who are between 4.5 to eight hours after stroke onset." In the long term he can see drugs being used as a first option and then clot removal if the drugs fail or cannot be used.
Responding to the research, the Stoke Association's Dr Clare Walton said clot-busters did not work for all patients so new techniques could help many patients. She added: "Clot retrieval devices have the potential to be used with more stroke patients and are better at removing blood clots than clot-busting drugs. "We are very excited about this potential new treatment and look forward to further developments." Dr Philip Gorelick, from Michigan State University, said the studies were "major steps forward in the successful treatment of acute ischaemic stroke, and pave the way for new treatment options". The research was published to coincide with a European Society of Cardiology meeting in Munich.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19355202
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Self driving autonomous cars
Dr Jun Jo from Griffith’s School of Information and Communication Technology, Professor Kiesu Kim from a Korean University and Helensvale State High school students are currently developing the first driverless cars in Australia.
"Our aim is to develop an eco-friendly car as well as a driverless intelligent car" Dr Jo said.
"It will be man controlled by early 2010 and driverless by 2012 which is not that far away".
The most significant obstacles facing these vehicles could be human rather than technical: government regulation, liability laws, privacy concerns and people's passion for cars and the control it gives them.
Source:
http://www.griffith.edu.au/create-whats-next/driverless-cars
http://www.griffith.edu.au/science-aviation/intelligent-control-systems-laboratory/research/research-topics/cooperative-driverless-vehicles
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/23/android_powered_autonomous_vehicle/
Date: 14-08-2012
Ever increasing number of cars on the roads means that a vehicle that can soar into the skies remains an attractive option. “We need to try to relive congestion on our road, and one potential solution is an aerial vehicle” says Dr Michael Jump, a lecturer in aerospace at Liverpool University in the UK.
The team intends to draw on drone technology to automate as much of the flying as possible. Current fly-by-wire technology, as well as some of the features being used in the development of autonomous or robotic vehicles could all help fleets of these vehicles fly along predefined highways – and crucially avoid each other.
But perhaps the biggest problem the team aim to tackle are the regulatory and safety issues, as well as those of public opinion. “The technology is the easiest bit,” says Dr Jump.
When pressed about a likely launch date, the project scientists are reluctant to commit but have no doubts that it will come to pass. “We are trying to apply rational scientific engineering approach to this problem” says Dr Jump. “What sounds strange and wonderful today can very often become tomorrow’s reality.”
Date: 06-06-2012
Permission to test autonomous functions on Berlin roads
07.12.2011 AutoNOMOS Labs finally received an exceptional permission to test autonomous functions in real traffic situations. The matured safety concept which we developed with the support of TÜV NORD and our new sponsor HDI Gerling Industry Insurances includes a safety driver (acting as a “driving teacher”) and a copilot who both can take control of the car in situations which seem too risky for autonomous driving.Facts:
- Exceptional permissions for the State of Berlin are examined and approved by the LABO (Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten) according to official StVO regulations.
- The name of our latest test-vehicle is “MadeInGermany” (MIG) our first car was named “Spirit of Berlin”.
- AutoNOMOS Labs is a project at the Freie Universität Berlin, Artificial Intelligence Group, financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in a market-oriented program called ForMaT.
- The car is equipped with several cameras, RADAR- and LIDAR-(Laser) sensors to “perceive” its surrounding and a high-precision GPS System. The Laser-Scanner on the roof detects obstacles around the car. It does not take pictures for google street view
- The vision of autonomous driving is shared with fellow robotic researchers around the world. Many of them – like ourselves – are former contestants of the DARPA Challenges.
Links:
- DARPA urban grand challenge autonomous cars
- MIT DARPA Grand Challange
- Standford University DARPA Grand Challange
- Tartan racing
Autonomous road train project SARTRE completes first public road test
“People think that autonomous driving is science fiction, but the fact is that the technology is already here,” says Linda Wahlström, project manager for the SARTRE project.
SARTRE is a joint venture between Ricardo UK Ltd, Idiada and Robotiker-Tecnalia of Spain, Institut for Kraftfahrwesen Aachen (IKA) of Germany, SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Volvo Car Corporation and Volvo Technology of Sweden.
Source: http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/05/autonomous-road-train-project-sartre-completes-first-public-road-test/
Datum: 09-May-2012
Google gets Nevada driving licence for self-drive car
Bruce Breslow, director of Nevada's Department of Motor Vehicles, says he believes driverless vehicles are the "cars of the future". Nevada changed its laws to allow self-driven cars in March. The long-term plan is to license members of the public to drive such cars.
Google's car has been issued with a red licence plate to make it recognisable. The plate features an infinity sign next to the number 001.
Other states, including California, are planning similar changes.
"The vast majority of vehicle accidents are due to human error," said California state Senator Alex Padilla, when he introduced the legislation. "Through the use of computers, sensors and other systems, an autonomous vehicle is capable of analysing the driving environment more quickly and operating the vehicle more safely."
Datum: 20-Feb-2012
Nevada approves self-driving cars on public roadways
Bron: http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/02/nevada-approves-self-driving-cars-on-public-roadways/
Datum: 11-Oct-2010
Google Working on Cars That Drive Themselves
Google CEO Eric Schmidt, the search engine giant is currently at work on cars that are completely automated. In fact, their progress is so far along that they’ve already got a whole slew of self driving Toyota Prius that have logged over 140,000+ test miles.
Google Working on Cars That Drive Themselves [Google Said to Be Working on Self Driving Cars, Have Already Logged 140,000+ Test Miles] » TFTS – Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities
Thursday, August 16, 2012
New nanoparticles shrink tumors in mice
To help speed up the process, MIT researchers have developed RNA-delivering nanoparticles that allow for rapid screening of new drug targets in mice. In their first mouse study, done with researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute, they showed that nanoparticles that target a protein known as ID4 can shrink ovarian tumors.
“If we could figure out how to make this work [in humans], it would open up a whole new class of targets that hadn’t been available,” says Hahn, who is also director of the Center for Cancer Genome Discovery at Dana-Farber and a senior associate member of the Broad Institute.
Lead authors of the paper are Yin Ren, an MD/PhD student in Bhatia’s lab, and Hiu Wing Cheung, a postdoc in Hahn’s lab.
In a study of mice with ovarian tumors, the researchers found that treatment with the RNAi nanoparticles eliminated most of the tumors. Gordon Mills, chair of the systems biology department at the University of Texas’ MD Anderson Cancer Center, says the work is an important step toward generating new targets for drugs to treat ovarian cancer, which is the fifth-leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the United States.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Solar energy and batteries
Scientists develop fast recharging material for lithium-ion batteries
A group of South Korean scientists has developed a new material for a secondary or rechargeable battery that can be fully recharged in just a matter of minutes. The new battery, on the other hand, uses the same type of nanoparticle materials that are first resolved in a solution that contains graphite, which later is carbonized to form a dense network of conductors all throughout the electrodes of the battery.
As a result, all energy-holding particles of the new battery start recharging simultaneously while the same particles in conventional batteries begin recharging in order from the outermost particles to the innermost. This cuts down on the time needed to recharge the new type of battery to between 1/30 and 1/120 of that of existing rechargeable batteries.
The research team, partly funded by the science ministry, also includes four doctoral students of the Ulsan university -- Lee Sang-han, Cho Yong-hyun, Song Hyun-kon and Lee Kyu-tae. Their paper, titled "Carbon-Coated Single-Crystal LiMn2O4 Nanoparticle Clusters as Cathode Material for High-Energy and High-Power Lithium-Ion Batteries," was published earlier this month in the international edition of the weekly journal Angewandte Chemie.
Bron: http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/techscience/2012/08/13/8/0601000000AEN20120813001600320F.HTML
Update: 06-06-2012
Solar Impulse’s first intercontinental landingTAKE-OFF TIME: 05:22 (UTC+2) 05.06.12
LANDING TIME: 23:30 (UTC+1) 05.06.12
FLIGHT DURATION: 19 H 8 MIN
AVERAGE GROUND SPEED: 51,8 KM/H
HIGHEST ALTITUDE REACHED: 8’229 M (27’000 FT)
FLIGHT DISTANCE: 830 KM
“This flight marks a new stage in the history of the project because we have reached another continent,” added André Borschberg, in consensus with Mr. Bakkoury’s comments “After almost 20 hours of flight we landed with a full set of batteries. This is extraordinary as it represents an increase in confidence in new technologies."
Source: http://solarimpulse.com/
Datum: 27-04-2012
Liquid batteries to store wind and solar energy
Renewable energies have great potential to solve diminishing natural resources but they are unreliable - if the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine they simply don't work.
But imagine if the energy that they generate could be stored in a giant battery?
Such a battery would need to be to be low-cost, a problem which has until now prevented such developments.
"In the past battery research has been driven by advanced chemistry that was expensive with the hope that mass production would see the price fall.
"The major difference with my group was that we would only consider components that have a chance of meeting the right price point," said Prof Sadoway.
Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17214914
http://lmbcorporation.com/
http://www.thegatesnotes.com/Topics/Energy/We-Need-A-Battery-Miracle
Update: 27-APR-2012
Datum: 24-Feb-2012
Light management leads to ultra-efficient solar cells, possibly 70%
It has long been thought that conversion efficiency of solar cells cannot exceed 34 percent. A thermodynamic limit is responsible for this practical limitation. By clever light management, however, an efficiency of 70 percent is achievable.
How this can be done is described by AMOLF director Albert Polman and his colleague Harry Atwater from the California Institute of Technology in a commentary article in Nature Materials that appears on Tuesday, February 21.
A solar cell is a device that converts sunlight into electrical power. This conversion process, however, is not very efficient: in a conventional solar cell a large fraction of the energy of the sunlight is lost. Blue and green light are converted to electricity with an efficiency less than 50%, while infrared light is not absorbed by a solar cell at all. The highest efficiency realized by a silicon solar cell is only 27 percent.
Albert Polman: "The solar cell community is very conservative. It is often assumed that only extremely simple solar cells can be made at low costs. But if you can reach an efficiency larger than 50% a much higher cost of the solar cell is acceptable. Solar panels with a high efficiency take up much less space, because you need fewer panels to generate the same amount of power. That saves costs of land, installation and infrastructure. With a slightly more complex solar cell it becomes possible to convert all colors of the light from the sun to electricity. An efficiency of 70% is achievable.
Bron: http://www.amolf.nl/news/detailpage/article/light-management-leads-to-ultra-efficient-solar-cells//chash/7ece18f9a69a891cddf38b40498927a1/
A group of South Korean scientists has developed a new material for a secondary or rechargeable battery that can be fully recharged in just a matter of minutes. The new battery, on the other hand, uses the same type of nanoparticle materials that are first resolved in a solution that contains graphite, which later is carbonized to form a dense network of conductors all throughout the electrodes of the battery.
As a result, all energy-holding particles of the new battery start recharging simultaneously while the same particles in conventional batteries begin recharging in order from the outermost particles to the innermost. This cuts down on the time needed to recharge the new type of battery to between 1/30 and 1/120 of that of existing rechargeable batteries.
The research team, partly funded by the science ministry, also includes four doctoral students of the Ulsan university -- Lee Sang-han, Cho Yong-hyun, Song Hyun-kon and Lee Kyu-tae. Their paper, titled "Carbon-Coated Single-Crystal LiMn2O4 Nanoparticle Clusters as Cathode Material for High-Energy and High-Power Lithium-Ion Batteries," was published earlier this month in the international edition of the weekly journal Angewandte Chemie.
Bron: http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/techscience/2012/08/13/8/0601000000AEN20120813001600320F.HTML
Update: 06-06-2012
Solar Impulse’s first intercontinental landingTAKE-OFF TIME: 05:22 (UTC+2) 05.06.12LANDING TIME: 23:30 (UTC+1) 05.06.12
FLIGHT DURATION: 19 H 8 MIN
AVERAGE GROUND SPEED: 51,8 KM/H
HIGHEST ALTITUDE REACHED: 8’229 M (27’000 FT)
FLIGHT DISTANCE: 830 KM
“This flight marks a new stage in the history of the project because we have reached another continent,” added André Borschberg, in consensus with Mr. Bakkoury’s comments “After almost 20 hours of flight we landed with a full set of batteries. This is extraordinary as it represents an increase in confidence in new technologies."
Source: http://solarimpulse.com/
Datum: 27-04-2012
Liquid batteries to store wind and solar energy
Renewable energies have great potential to solve diminishing natural resources but they are unreliable - if the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine they simply don't work.
But imagine if the energy that they generate could be stored in a giant battery?
Such a battery would need to be to be low-cost, a problem which has until now prevented such developments.
"In the past battery research has been driven by advanced chemistry that was expensive with the hope that mass production would see the price fall.
"The major difference with my group was that we would only consider components that have a chance of meeting the right price point," said Prof Sadoway.
Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17214914
http://lmbcorporation.com/
http://www.thegatesnotes.com/Topics/Energy/We-Need-A-Battery-Miracle
Update: 27-APR-2012
“The way things stand, electricity demand must be in balance with electricity supply.” The problem is: coal and nuclear plants can’t address demand fast enough. How do we deal with the problem of intermittency?
Sadoway thinks he has the answer, and in this hugely well-received talk, he outlines his invention of a liquid metal battery he thinks might act as a blueprint for the future. “If we’re going to get this country out of its current energy situation, we can’t conserve our way out, we can’t drill our way out, we can’t bomb our way out. We’re going to do it the old-fashioned American way: we’re going to invent our way out, working together,” says MIT professor, Donald Sadoway.
The 36-inch-wide “Bistro Table” battery is not yet ready for prime time, but a future variant is designed to produce the daily electrical needs of 200 American households with a battery that is “silent, emissions free, has no moving parts, is remotely controlled, and is designed to the market price point, without subsidy.”
Datum: 24-Feb-2012
Light management leads to ultra-efficient solar cells, possibly 70%
It has long been thought that conversion efficiency of solar cells cannot exceed 34 percent. A thermodynamic limit is responsible for this practical limitation. By clever light management, however, an efficiency of 70 percent is achievable.How this can be done is described by AMOLF director Albert Polman and his colleague Harry Atwater from the California Institute of Technology in a commentary article in Nature Materials that appears on Tuesday, February 21.
A solar cell is a device that converts sunlight into electrical power. This conversion process, however, is not very efficient: in a conventional solar cell a large fraction of the energy of the sunlight is lost. Blue and green light are converted to electricity with an efficiency less than 50%, while infrared light is not absorbed by a solar cell at all. The highest efficiency realized by a silicon solar cell is only 27 percent.
Albert Polman: "The solar cell community is very conservative. It is often assumed that only extremely simple solar cells can be made at low costs. But if you can reach an efficiency larger than 50% a much higher cost of the solar cell is acceptable. Solar panels with a high efficiency take up much less space, because you need fewer panels to generate the same amount of power. That saves costs of land, installation and infrastructure. With a slightly more complex solar cell it becomes possible to convert all colors of the light from the sun to electricity. An efficiency of 70% is achievable.
Bron: http://www.amolf.nl/news/detailpage/article/light-management-leads-to-ultra-efficient-solar-cells//chash/7ece18f9a69a891cddf38b40498927a1/
Retinal prosthetic strategy with the capacity to restore normal vision
Bron: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/08/08/1207035109
Related (sorry it's in Dutch):
Bron: http://tweakers.net/nieuws/70582/implantaat-herstelt-zicht-bij-blinden.html
Implantaten zijn ontwikkeld door het Duitse Retina Implant AG, in samenwerking met het Institute for Ophthalmic Research van de univerisiteit van Tübingen. In de toekomst zouden dergelijke implantaten het gezichtsvermogen van blinden en slechtzienden kunnen herstellen. De testpatiënten konden personen zien en konden zelfs tot op zekere hoogte lezen.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Fusion: The quest to recreate the Sun’s power on Earth.
It's just one of the huge number of challenges facing the designers of this groundbreaking project. The concept was discussed and argued over for several decades before finally being agreed in 2007 as a multinational cooperation between the European Union, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the US – in total, 34 countries representing more than half of the world's population.
These issues, plus the logistics of dealing with multiple nations with their own fluctuating domestic budget constraints, mean that the site won't be ready for the first experiments until 2020. Even then, they will just be testing the reactor and its equipment. The first proper fusion tests, reacting deuterium (a hydrogen isotope abundant in sea water) and tritium (which will be made from lithium), won't take place until 2028.
Those will be the key tests, though. If all goes to plan, the physicists hope to prove that they can produce ten times as much energy as the experiment requires. The plan is to use 50 megawatts (in heating the plasma and cooling the reactor), and get 500 MW out. Larger tokamaks should, theoretically, be able to deliver an even greater input to output power ratio, in the range of gigawatts.
Source:
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120810-the-quest-to-recreate-the-sun/1
http://www.iter.org/
Monday, August 06, 2012
Chemo 'undermines itself' through rogue response
Chemotherapy can undermine itself by causing a rogue response in healthy cells, which could explain why people become resistant, a study suggests.
Writing in Nature Medicine, US experts said chemo causes wound-healing cells around tumours to make a protein that helps the cancer resist treatment.
In this study, by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle looked at fibroblast cells, which normally play a critical role in wound healing and the production of collagen, the main component of connective tissue such as tendons.
It was already known that the protein was involved in the development of cancers - but not in treatment resistance. The researchers hope their findings will help find a way to stop this response, and improve the effectiveness of therapy.
Peter Nelson, who led the research, said: "Cancer therapies are increasingly evolving to be very specific, targeting key molecular engines that drive the cancer rather than more generic vulnerabilities, such as damaging DNA.
Prof Fran Balkwill, a Cancer Research UK expert on the microenvironment around tumours, said: "This work fits with other research showing that cancer treatments don't just affect cancer cells, but can also target cells in and around tumours.
"Sometimes this can be good - for instance, chemotherapy can stimulate surrounding healthy immune cells to attack tumours. "But this work confirms that healthy cells surrounding the tumour can also help the tumour to become resistant to treatment. "The next step is to find ways to target these resistance mechanisms to help make chemotherapy more effective."
Bron: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19111700
Writing in Nature Medicine, US experts said chemo causes wound-healing cells around tumours to make a protein that helps the cancer resist treatment.
In this study, by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle looked at fibroblast cells, which normally play a critical role in wound healing and the production of collagen, the main component of connective tissue such as tendons.
It was already known that the protein was involved in the development of cancers - but not in treatment resistance. The researchers hope their findings will help find a way to stop this response, and improve the effectiveness of therapy.
Peter Nelson, who led the research, said: "Cancer therapies are increasingly evolving to be very specific, targeting key molecular engines that drive the cancer rather than more generic vulnerabilities, such as damaging DNA.
Prof Fran Balkwill, a Cancer Research UK expert on the microenvironment around tumours, said: "This work fits with other research showing that cancer treatments don't just affect cancer cells, but can also target cells in and around tumours.
"Sometimes this can be good - for instance, chemotherapy can stimulate surrounding healthy immune cells to attack tumours. "But this work confirms that healthy cells surrounding the tumour can also help the tumour to become resistant to treatment. "The next step is to find ways to target these resistance mechanisms to help make chemotherapy more effective."
Bron: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19111700
Friday, August 03, 2012
Researchers build a toolbox for synthetic biology - MIT News Office
Achieving these complex functions requires controlling many genetic and cellular components, including not only genes but also the regulatory proteins that turn them on and off. In a living cell, proteins called transcription factors often regulate that process.
So far, most researchers have designed their synthetic circuits using transcription factors found in bacteria. However, these don’t always translate well to nonbacterial cells and can be a challenge to scale, making it harder to create complex circuits, says Timothy Lu, assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science and a member of MIT’s Research Laboratory of Electronics.
Lu and his colleagues at Boston University (BU), Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have now come up with a new method to design transcription factors for nonbacterial cells (in this case, yeast cells).
The project is part of a larger, ongoing effort to develop genetic “parts” that can be assembled into circuits to achieve specific functions. Through this endeavor, Lu and his colleagues hope to make it easier to develop circuits that do exactly what a researcher wants. “If you look at a parts registry, a lot of these parts come from a hodgepodge of different organisms. You put them together into your organism of choice and hope that it works,” says Lu, corresponding author of a paper describing the new transcription factor design technique in the Aug. 3 issue of the journal Cell.
Lead authors of the paper include Ahmad Khalil, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at BU, Lu, and BU postdoc Caleb Bashor. Other authors are Harvard grad student Cherie Ramirez; BU research assistant Nora Pyenson; Keith Joung, associate chief of pathology for research at MGH; and James Collins, BU professor of biomedical engineering.
Bron: Researchers build a toolbox for synthetic biology - MIT News Office
Thursday, August 02, 2012
Cancer stem cell discovery could signal 'paradigm shift'
Researchers have discovered the cells in tumours that seem to be responsible for the regrowth of tumours.
Three separate studies on mice appear to have confirmed the view that the growth of tumours is driven by so-called cancer stem cells. The studies have been published in the journals, Nature and Science. three separate groups of researchers working independently have found direct evidence of cancer stem cells driving tumour growth in brain, gut and skin cancers.
According to Prof Cedric Blanpain of the Free University of Brussels, who led one of the studies, the results could pave the way for a new approach to treating many cancers.
But that may be easier said than done. The newly-identified cancer stem cells are very similar to healthy stem cells responsible for growing and renewing tissue in the body. Any therapy to target cancer stem cells may also destroy healthy tissues. A priority for researchers will be to see if there are important differences between normal and cancer stem cells so that therapies can distinguish between them.
But according to Prof Hugo Snippert of the University Medical Centre in Utrecht, who led the study into intestinal tumours, the confirmation that these cells exist is an important step in future cancer research.
Prof Luis Parada of the University of Texas, who led research that identified stem cells in brain tumours in mice, said he believed there would now be a new approach to developing new treatments for solid tumour cancers.
"Cancer stem cells change the paradigm. The goal of shrinking tumours may well turn out to be less important than targeting the cancer cells in that tumour."
Dr Michaela Frye, a Cancer Research UK scientist based at the University of Cambridge, said: "These results add even more weight to the theory that cancers are driven by a distinct group of cells called cancer stem cells.
Bron: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19083685
Three separate studies on mice appear to have confirmed the view that the growth of tumours is driven by so-called cancer stem cells. The studies have been published in the journals, Nature and Science. three separate groups of researchers working independently have found direct evidence of cancer stem cells driving tumour growth in brain, gut and skin cancers.
According to Prof Cedric Blanpain of the Free University of Brussels, who led one of the studies, the results could pave the way for a new approach to treating many cancers.
But that may be easier said than done. The newly-identified cancer stem cells are very similar to healthy stem cells responsible for growing and renewing tissue in the body. Any therapy to target cancer stem cells may also destroy healthy tissues. A priority for researchers will be to see if there are important differences between normal and cancer stem cells so that therapies can distinguish between them.
But according to Prof Hugo Snippert of the University Medical Centre in Utrecht, who led the study into intestinal tumours, the confirmation that these cells exist is an important step in future cancer research.
Prof Luis Parada of the University of Texas, who led research that identified stem cells in brain tumours in mice, said he believed there would now be a new approach to developing new treatments for solid tumour cancers.
"Cancer stem cells change the paradigm. The goal of shrinking tumours may well turn out to be less important than targeting the cancer cells in that tumour."
Dr Michaela Frye, a Cancer Research UK scientist based at the University of Cambridge, said: "These results add even more weight to the theory that cancers are driven by a distinct group of cells called cancer stem cells.
Bron: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19083685
Friday, July 27, 2012
Takeda Initiates Phase 3 Trial For Lung Cancer Drug
Motesanib (development code: AMG 706) is an investigational, orally administered small molecule antagonist of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1, 2, and 3, platelet-derived growth factor receptors, and stem cell factor receptor.
Source: http://www.asianscientist.com/tech-pharma/takeda-initiates-phase-3-trial-motesanib-nsclc-2012/
Source: http://www.asianscientist.com/tech-pharma/takeda-initiates-phase-3-trial-motesanib-nsclc-2012/
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Ground-breaking windpipe-transplant child 'doing well'
Instead of growing a new windpipe, they took a donor windpipe and stripped it of all the donor's cells. What was left was a three-dimensional web of collagen fibres which was transplanted into Ciaran. Meanwhile, stem cells, which can become any other type of cell, from nerve to skin cells, were taken from Ciaran's bone marrow. These were then sprayed onto the newly transplanted windpipe. The surgery had been tried once before in Spain, in 2008, on a 30-year-old woman, but Ciaran was the first child.
Surgeon, Prof Martin Birchall, speaking in 2010: "It could replace transplantation"
He has been monitored for the past two years and the details have been published in the Lancet.
Bron: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18980915
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
New drug candidate shows promise against cancer
One reason for the efficacy of phenanthriplatin is that it can get into cancer cells more easily than cisplatin, Lippard says. Previous studies have shown that platinum compounds containing carbon can pass through specific channels, found in abundance on cancer cells, that allow positively charged organic compounds to enter. Another reason is the ability of phenanthriplatin to inhibit transcription, the process by which cells convert DNA to RNA in the first step of gene expression.
Another advantage of phenanthriplatin is that it seems to be able to evade some of cancer cells’ defenses against cisplatin. Sulfur-containing compounds found in cells, such as glutathione, can attack platinum and destroy it before it can reach and bind to DNA. However, phenanthriplatin contains a bulky three-ring attachment that appears to prevent sulfur from inactivating the platinum compounds as effectively.
Luigi Marzilli, a professor of chemistry at Louisiana State University, says the new compound appears to be very promising. “It expands the utility of platinum drugs and avoids some of the problems that existing drugs have,” says Marzilli, who was not part of the research team.
The researchers are now conducting animal tests to determine how the drug is distributed throughout the body, and how well it kills tumors. Depending on the results, they may be able to modify the compound to improve those properties, Lippard says.
Source: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/platinum-cancer-drug-candidate-0711.html
Friday, July 06, 2012
Man and robot linked by brain scanner - Avatar
Mirror test
The research project connected a robot to a man having his brain scanned using fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging). This monitors blood flowing through the brain and can spot when areas associated with certain actions, such as movement, are in use.
The next step for the research is to refine it to use a different type of scanning that can work using a skull cap rather than an fMRI machine that a person has to lie in. The robot used to represent a human is to be upgraded to a version that has a similar stature and gait to a real person.
Video:
Sources:
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18721658
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21528725.900-robot-avatar-body-controlled-by-thought-alone.html
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A Real-Time fMRI-Based Spelling Device Immediately Enabling Robust Motor-Independent Communication
Research from the Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht 6200 MD, The Netherlands.
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
3D-printed sugar network to help grow artificial liver
Researchers have moved a step closer to creating a synthetic liver, after a US team created a template for blood vessels to grow into, using sugar.Dr Jordan Miller from the lab of the lead scientist, Dr Christopher Chen, at the University of Pennsylvania, told BBC News: "The big challenge in understanding how to grow large artificial tissue is how to keep all the cells alive in these engineered tissues, because when you put a lot of cells together, they end up taking nutrients and oxygen from neighbouring cells and end up suffocating and dying
So a group of scientists from the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) decided to build a synthetic vascular system that would serve the same purpose
Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18677627
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Remote crowdworking
Heaphy Project
Willow Garage is a robotics company based in California. It pioneers the use of human-in-the-loop systems - that is, actions which robots can't quite manage on their own, but with a simple piece of human intervention can finish the job. By using Mechanical Turk, Amazon's crowdworking platform which allows workers all over the world to remotely carry out small tasks for small cash rewards. Its Heaphy Project is a system which allows a person to control a robot remotely using just a web browser.
Microtask's Mr Miettinen offers a massive workforce available at a company's beck and call without the hassle. "The individual tasks are really small," Mr Miettinen explains. "It can be just a single word out of a document. They're not seeing the entire page, they don't know what the rest of the page contains, and they also don't know who else is working on it." It means several people, in several continents, can all collaborate to process one individual form.
Saturday, June 02, 2012
Paralysed rats 'learn to walk'
Experts said it was an "exceptional study" and that restoring function after paralysis "can no longer be dismissed as a pipedream".
In 2011, a man from Oregon in the US was able to stand up again while his spinal cord was stimulated with electricity. Rob Summers had been paralysed from the chest down after being hit by a car.
Now researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) say they have restored far more movement in rats which became able to run and climb stairs. The spinal cord of the rats was cut in two places. It meant messages could not travel from the brain to the legs, but the spinal cord was still in one piece.
The lead researcher, Prof Gregoire Courtine, said: "Over time the animal regains the capacity to perform one, two steps, then a long run and eventually we gain the capacity to sprint over ground, climb stairs and even pass obstacles."
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18257077
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Robotic arm controlled by a paralyzed woman’s mind
Cathy Hutchinson suffered from a stroke many years ago that left her debilitated and unable to move and talk. But a group of researchers led by neurologist and engineer Leigh Hochberg of Brown University is about to change all of that. “When the woman with the brain stem stroke reached out for that thermos of coffee and put it in her mouth and then she put it back down, the smile on her face was remarkable,” Hochberg said. Hochberg directs the BrainGate2 clinical trial, an ongoing test of the BrainGate system funded in part by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Researchers connected the 58-year-old woman’s brain to a computer that runs a robotic arm. With a 4-millimeter wide brain-implanted chip, the system conducts signals from motion-controlling neurons to a computer that decodes the signals and turns them into software commands. For the researchers to map a person’s neural activity to the robotic arm’s movement, they moved the arm while asking the participants to imagine themselves controlling it.
Once the scientists had taught the computer which patterns would normally make a participant’s arm reach out for a bottle of drink, they hardwired them as the command for the robot arm to do the same thing, but with the signal coming directly from the participant’s brain as they imagined holding the bottle and bringing it near to their mouth for drinking. The researchers are hoping to make the system smaller, stable and wireless in the future so that people with brain injuries and physical disorders can use it.
Robotic limbs or extensions can help us in many ways. This woman who completed the London Marathon using a ReWalk Exoskeleton is a great example.
Source: http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/05/robotic-arm-controlled-by-a-paralyzed-womans-mind/
Researchers connected the 58-year-old woman’s brain to a computer that runs a robotic arm. With a 4-millimeter wide brain-implanted chip, the system conducts signals from motion-controlling neurons to a computer that decodes the signals and turns them into software commands. For the researchers to map a person’s neural activity to the robotic arm’s movement, they moved the arm while asking the participants to imagine themselves controlling it.
Once the scientists had taught the computer which patterns would normally make a participant’s arm reach out for a bottle of drink, they hardwired them as the command for the robot arm to do the same thing, but with the signal coming directly from the participant’s brain as they imagined holding the bottle and bringing it near to their mouth for drinking. The researchers are hoping to make the system smaller, stable and wireless in the future so that people with brain injuries and physical disorders can use it.
Robotic limbs or extensions can help us in many ways. This woman who completed the London Marathon using a ReWalk Exoskeleton is a great example.
Source: http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/05/robotic-arm-controlled-by-a-paralyzed-womans-mind/
Teleportation record heralds secure global network
The distance record for quantum teleportation has been smashed. Juan Yin and colleagues at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, Anhui, teleported a quantum state 97 kilometres, 81 km further than the previous record.
Yin's team entangle photons – which links their properties even when the photons are separated. Then they beam one photon from each entangled pair to a point A and the other to B.
When a photon is changed at A, the particle at B also changes. No information passes from A to B, but the photon change can be used to partially encode quantum bits, called qubits. Rather like a letter that can't be opened, these can only be reconstructed at B using additional data communicated conventionally from point A, so information is not being sent faster than light.
Teleportation is ultra-secure as there are no photons travelling through space to intercept. The next step would be to teleport with a satellite, for global teleportation, says team member Yuao Chen. That might even lead to a quantum internet.
"This is a very nice piece of work," says Michael Biercuk of the Centre for Engineered Quantum Systems at the University of Sydney, who was not involved in the work.
Source: New Scientist arxiv.org/abs/1205.2024
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Light-powered bionic eye invented to help restore sight
The new device, described in the journal Nature Photonics, uses a special pair of glasses to beam near infrared light into the eye.
Retinal implants stimulate the nerves in the back of the eye, which has helped some patients to see. Early results of a trial in the UK mean two men have gone from being totally blind to being able to perceive light and even some shapes.
However, as well as a fitting a chip behind the retina, a battery needs to be fitted behind the ear and a cable needs to join the two together.
Prof Robert MacLaren from Oxford Eye Hospital explains how a bionic eye implant works
The Stanford researchers say their method could be a step forward by "eliminating the need for complex electronics and wiring".
A pair of glasses fitted with a video camera records what is happening before a patient's eyes and fires beams of near infrared light on to the retinal chip. This creates an electrical signal which is passed on to nerves. Natural light is 1,000 times too weak to power the implant.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18061174
Thursday, May 10, 2012
BBC News - Stem cell shield 'could protect cancer patients'
It may be possible to use "stem cell shielding" to protect the body from the damaging effects of chemotherapy, early results from a US trial suggest.
Chemotherapy drugs try to kill rapidly dividing cancer cells, but they can also affect other healthy tissues such as bone marrow. A study, in Science Translational Medicine, used genetically modified stem cells to protect the bone marrow.
Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in Seattle, said these effects were "a major barrier" to using chemotherapy and often meant the treatment had to be stopped, delayed or reduced.
'Protective shields'
They have tried to protect the bone marrow in three patients with a type of brain cancer, glioblastoma.
One of the researchers, Dr Jennifer Adair, said: "This therapy is analogous to firing at both tumour cells and bone marrow cells, but giving the bone marrow cells protective shields while the tumour cells are unshielded."
The researchers said the three patients had all lived longer than the average survival time of 12 months for the cancer. They said one patient was still alive 34 months after treatment.
Cancer Research UK scientist Prof Susan Short said: "This is a very interesting study and a completely new approach to protecting normal cells during cancer treatment.
"It needs to be tested in more patients but it may mean that we can use temozolomide [a chemotherapy drug] for more brain tumour patients than we previously thought. "This approach could also be a model for other situations where the bone marrow is affected by cancer treatment."
Source: BBC News - Stem cell shield 'could protect cancer patients'
Chemotherapy drugs try to kill rapidly dividing cancer cells, but they can also affect other healthy tissues such as bone marrow. A study, in Science Translational Medicine, used genetically modified stem cells to protect the bone marrow.
Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in Seattle, said these effects were "a major barrier" to using chemotherapy and often meant the treatment had to be stopped, delayed or reduced.
'Protective shields'
They have tried to protect the bone marrow in three patients with a type of brain cancer, glioblastoma.
One of the researchers, Dr Jennifer Adair, said: "This therapy is analogous to firing at both tumour cells and bone marrow cells, but giving the bone marrow cells protective shields while the tumour cells are unshielded."
The researchers said the three patients had all lived longer than the average survival time of 12 months for the cancer. They said one patient was still alive 34 months after treatment.
Cancer Research UK scientist Prof Susan Short said: "This is a very interesting study and a completely new approach to protecting normal cells during cancer treatment.
"It needs to be tested in more patients but it may mean that we can use temozolomide [a chemotherapy drug] for more brain tumour patients than we previously thought. "This approach could also be a model for other situations where the bone marrow is affected by cancer treatment."
Source: BBC News - Stem cell shield 'could protect cancer patients'
BBC News - MirageTable: Microsoft presents augmented reality device
The MirageTable was demonstrated at a conference in Austin, Texas and is outlined on the firm's research site.
Source: BBC News - MirageTable: Microsoft presents augmented reality device
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
BBC News - Magnetic bacteria may help build future bio-computers
A team from the UK's University of Leeds and Japan's Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology have used microbes that eat iron. As they ingest the iron, the microbes create tiny magnets inside themselves, similar to those in PC hard drives.
"We are quickly reaching the limits of traditional electronic manufacturing as computer components get smaller," said lead researcher Dr Sarah Staniland of the University of Leeds. "The machines we've traditionally used to build them are clumsy at such small scales. "Nature has provided us with the perfect tool to [deal with] this problem."
Biological wires
Besides using microorganisms to produce magnets, the researchers also managed to create tiny electrical wires from living organisms. Tubes could in future be used as microscopic bio-engineered wires, capable of transferring information - just like cells do in our bodies - inside a computer, Dr Masayoshi Tanaka from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology.
Source: BBC News - Magnetic bacteria may help build future bio-computers
Monday, May 07, 2012
BBC News - Range of brain diseases could be treated by single drug
Many neuro-degenerative diseases result in the build-up of proteins which are not put together correctly - known as misfolded proteins. This happens in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's as well as in prion diseases, such as the human form of mad cow disease. Researchers at the University of Leicester uncovered how the build-up of proteins in mice with prion disease resulted in brain cells dying. They showed that as misfolded protein levels rise in the brain, cells respond by trying to shut down the production of all new proteins.
It is the same trick cells use when infected with a virus. Stopping production of proteins stops the virus spreading. However, shutting down the factory for a long period of time ends up killing the brain cells as they do not produce the proteins they actually need to function. The team at the Medical Research Council laboratory in Leicester then tried to manipulate the switch which turned the protein factory off. When they prevented cells from shutting down, they prevented the brain dying. The mice then lived significantly longer.
Prof Giovanna Mallucci told the BBC: "The novelty here is we're just targeting the protein shut-down, we're ignoring the prion protein and that's what makes it potentially relevant across the board."
Source: BBC News - Range of brain diseases could be treated by single drug
BBC News - Curry's ability to fight cancer put to the test
A chemical found in curry is to be tested for its ability to kill bowel cancer tumours in patients. Curcumin, which is found in the spice turmeric, has been linked to a range of health benefits.
Studies have already shown that it can beat cancer cells grown in a laboratory and benefits have been suggested in stroke and dementia patients as well.
Forty patients at Leicester Royal Infirmary and Leicester General Hospital will take part in the trial, which will compare the effects of giving curcumin pills seven days before starting standard chemotherapy treatment. Prof William Steward, who is leading the study, said animal tests combining the two were "100 times better" than either on their own and that had been the "major justification for cracking on" with the trial.
Souce: BBC News - Curry's ability to fight cancer put to the test
Friday, May 04, 2012
BBC News - Two blind British men have electronic retinas fitted
They are able to perceive light and even some shapes from the devices which were fitted behind the retina.
The men are part of a clinical trial carried out at the Oxford Eye Hospital and King's College Hospital in London. Professor Robert MacLaren and Mr Tim Jackson are leading the trial.Prof MacLaren said the results might not seem extraordinary to the sighted, but for a totally blind person to be able to orientate themselves in a room, and perhaps know where the doors and windows are, would be "extremely useful" and of practical help.
In 2010 a Finnish man who received the experimental chip was able to identify letters, but his implant worked only in a laboratory setting, whereas the British men's devices are portable. The implant was developed by a German company, Retina Implant AG.
Source: BBC News - Two blind British men have electronic retinas fitted
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