Self-cleaning coating gets tough

Chemists have devised a better method of coating fabrics with a water-repellent, "self-cleaning" coating.

Super-hydrophobic surfaces have fascinated scientists for years; they are behind the lotus plant's self-cleaning leaves and the gecko's super-dry and thus super-sticky feet.

These surfaces are practically impossible to wet - water beads on them and dirt and particulates do not stick to them, leading to the self-cleaning description. Chemists looking for the next best thing in clothing coatings have tried several tricks in recent years to create a coating with similar properties in the laboratory. Uncoated fibres (top) and fibres coated with multiple layers of silica nanoparticles - the same stuff as sand

The new work hinges on what is known as layer-by-layer self-assembly - basically dipping a fabric into a solution over and over again to deposit multiple layers on it.


The team from the Australian Future Fibres Research and Innovation Centre at Deakin University made their solution with tiny particles of silica.

Source: BBC News - Stain-shedding coating gets tough

BBC News - 3D images of tissue may help spot and treat cancer

Three-dimensional images of tissue samples could help spot cancer early, say researchers.

Scientists from the University of Leeds have created a technique to generate hi-resolution, colour 3D images of a piece of tissue. Cancer Research UK said the technology could help researchers understand how cancer grew and spread, and learn how to treat it more effectively.


The scanner then creates 2D impressions of each cross-section, and this is where the new technology comes into play. The software developed by the Leeds University team generates a three-dimensional shape from these virtual slides, creating a realistic image that a researcher can manipulate and spin around.



Source: BBC News - 3D images of tissue may help spot and treat cancer

BBC News - Self-sculpting sand robots are under development at MIT

Tiny robots that can join together to form functional tools and then split apart again after use might be ready for market in little more than a decade, according to researchers.

A team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says it has developed about 30 prototype "smart pebbles" and the software to run them. Each processor can currently store 32 kilobytes of code and has only two kilobytes of working memory - so the algorithm powering the process had to be kept simple. "The idea is that they sense the border of the original shape - if a module detects it doesn't have a neighbour, it assumes it may be on the border of the shape," Mr Gilpin explained.


"But in 10 years you might see a product on the market that starts to rival traditional manufacturing approaches. I think we might all be surprised at how quickly this advances once people really start looking at the technology."

More details of the project will be presented to the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation in St Paul, Minnesota next month.


Source: BBC News - Self-sculpting sand robots are under development at MIT

BBC News - Breast cancer rules rewritten in 'landmark' study

What we currently call breast cancer should be thought of as 10 completely separate diseases, according to an international study which has been described as a "landmark".

The categories could improve treatment by tailoring drugs for a patient's exact type of breast cancer and help predict survival more accurately.

"Breast cancer is not one disease, but 10 different diseases," said lead researcher Prof Carlos Caldas.

The study was funded by Cancer Research UK. Its chief executive, Dr Harpal Kumar, said: "This is the largest ever study looking in detail at the genetics of breast tumors.


Source BBC News - Breast cancer rules rewritten in 'landmark' study

AngelMed Guardian alerts you before a heart attack strikes | Ubergizmo

Heart attacks are scary – you can never know when one might hit you squarely in the chest. The AngelMed Guardian intends to circumvent this potentially fatal situation by warning you beforehand thanks to a self-monitoring alert mode. The downside to it? You will need to be carved open first, as this is an implantable medical device.



Source: AngelMed Guardian alerts you before a heart attack strikes | Ubergizmo

New prostate cancer treatment may reduce side-effects

A new technique to treat early prostate cancer may have far fewer side-effects than existing therapies, say experts.

A 41-patient study in the journal Lancet Oncology suggests targeted ultrasound treatment could reduce the risk of impotence and incontinence. The Medical Research Council (MRC), which funded the study, welcomed the results, which it said were promising. Hashim Ahmed, a urological surgeon at the trust who led the study, says the results, 12 months after treatment, are very encouraging.



Source: BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17726979

Stem Cells from Pelvic Bone May Preserve Heart Function

Stem cells from the pelvic bone may help hearts beat stronger. Doctors and other clinicians at the Orlando Health Heart Institute are researching the use of stem cells from pelvic bone marrow to restore tissue and improve heart function after muscle damage from heart attacks.

"The thought is the body may use itself to heal itself," said Vijaykumar S. Kasi, MD, PhD, an interventional cardiologist, director, Cardiovascular Research, and principal investigator for the clinical trial at ORMC.

The PreSERVE-AMI Study, sponsored by Amorcyte, LLC, a NeoStem, Inc. company (NYSE Amex: NBS), is for patients who have received a stent to open the blocked artery after a specific heart attack history (in part a ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction, or STEMI, a critical type of heart attack caused by a prolonged period of blocked blood supply, affecting a large area of the heart muscle and causing changes in the blood levels of key chemical markers). The study evaluates the effectiveness and safety of infusing stem cells collected from a patient's bone marrow into the artery in the heart that may have caused the heart attack. About 160 patients will participate in this national study at approximately 34 sites.

Source: ScienceDaily http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120411102434.htm

Huntington's disease 'lowers' cancer risk

People with Huntington's disease, a debilitating brain condition, appear have a "protection" from cancer, according to a study in Sweden.

People with Huntington's disease, a debilitating brain condition, appear have a "protection" from cancer, according to a study in Sweden. Academics at Lund University analysed Swedish hospital data from 1969 to 2008. They found 1,510 patients with Huntington's disease. During the study period, 91 of those patients subsequently developed cancer. The authors said that was 53% lower than the levels expected for the general population. Huntington's is one of a group of illnesses called "polyglutamine diseases". Data from other polyglutamine diseases also showed lower levels of cancer.

The authors said: "We found that the incidence of cancer was significantly lower among patients with polyglutamine diseases than in the general population.

Source: BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17678587