New DNA Tests for Colon Cancer

Colon cancer is disgnosed in over 150,000 people per year in the US and cost a great deal for treatment. Recent studies have shown that two new DNA tests can be performed so that colonoscopies can be perscribed for people only if one of these tests has returned positive. Colonoscopies are a process in which the colon (the large intestine) and the rectum are examined with a colonoscope. All people of the age of 50 are currently being referred routinely to have this test performed.

The theory is that more people would be more likely to take these new DNA tests since they are a non-invasive, less expensive, and a more effective way to diagnose colon cancer since colonoscopies can often miss tumors in the upper large intestine.

The first DNA test would examine stool samples for four altered genes, that if present, could signify colon cancer and can allow doctors to find and remove tumors at an early age. The second test examines the blood for an altered Septin 9 gene found in colon cancer patients.

There is question to whether or not the tests are sensitive enough to detect the harmful tumors and specific enough to not give inaccurate results. Once the trial of the tests is finished, the tests will be available around 2012 (if approved).

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/29/health/29cancer.html?ref=research

Self-Assembling Nanodevices

Researchers at Harvard's Wyss Institute have found a way of creating a self-assembling nanodevice that not only works, but can change shape on command. They are made up of DNA which makes it very applicable to medical usage because the DNA is biocompatible and biodegradable. A mix of single strand and double stranded alpha helix structures are used to make up the self-assembling nanostructures. Don Ingber, one of the main contributors to this project said "this new self-assembly based nanofabrication technology could lead to nanoscale medical devices and drug delivery systems, such as virus mimics that introduce drugs directly into diseased cells." The next step in research for these nanodevices is the delivery of chemicals for differentiation in stem cells.

I found this research in the field of nanodevices interesting because it is on the leading edge of discovery, but also because it is quite relevant to our project that we are working on in class. This shows that the relevance and actuality of our project will soon become a reality. This shows that the projects we do now could one day become a widely usable device and could save lives.


http://insciences.org/article.php?article_id=9205

Max Cadena

Creating a "Humanized" Mouse For Better Research

Animal models have long been used for preclinical studies on the effectiveness and problems with treatments and drugs, but diseases such as malaria and hepatitis B and C, which lead to 1.5 million deaths yearly, have yet to be effectively studied and modeled. This is because a lot of the ill effects in the liver stem from the human body's immune response to the virus. This necessitates the creation of more advanced models, those that better resemble human conditions. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies recently overcame hurdles to creating a "humanized" mouse, one that housed human liver cells and a human immune system. Their research mainly involved creating mice with livers that could be obliterated and engrafted with human liver cells that would proliferate enough to be used in studies. Although less complete, efforts at suppressing the mouse immune system and injecting human immune stem cells have been partially successful as well. Despite advances, challenges such as cost of materials and questions as to how well these mice will truly model the human systems have yet to be answered.

I find this work very interesting as it involves both genetically engineering the mice and modifying them after as well as creating new and improved methods for studying treatments for diseases that have otherwise been unsuccessfully improved. Developments in this area have potential to save lives and improve areas of research rapidly and without having to change the way things are currently done.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=homo-musculus-researchers-create

Researchers at the University of Maryland have stumbled upon a new treatment for Asthma. What they discovered was that, like your tongue, the lungs have taste buds, more specifically bitter taste receptors. It was thought when doctors first noticed these bitter taste bubs in the smooth muscle of the bronchus that they were there for detecting toxins in the air. What they believed was that when a toxic chemical entered the lungs these taste buds would trigger the lungs to contract and so to lessen the impact of the toxin and causing the person flee from the area.

Contrary to what they thought the bitter taste receptors actually caused the lungs to expand. Studies conducted in lab mice showed that when a bitter chemical was inhaled it opened the airways. Another beneficial behavior of these taste receptors is that when they are stimulated they increase calcium levels in the smooth muscle cells of the lung, which relaxes and dilates blood vessels. Even more surprising is that fact that something as simple as a harmless bitter compound, when inhaled expanded the airways better than any treatment for asthma or COPD out today. The scientists at Maryland believe that this treatment will be available very soon and it could potentially take over most of the market for asthma and COPD medications.

This article captured my attention because I always find is interesting when scientists discover new treatments or cures for diseases that are easily found in nature. This bitter compound was not chemically engineered in a lab somewhere, it was an off the shelf cooking sweetener with a bitter after taste, but pretty much any bitter plant’s aroma can do the trick, things like lemons, onions, are garlic to name a few.

Survey on Calcium Phosphate Polymers and their Application in Bone Repair and Replacement

Although the field of tissue engineering is still seen as a novel area in the health sciences, it is projected that applications in areas like bone repair and replacement will become a billion dollar business in no more than two decades. Nowadays, bone repair material comes usually from the same patient (autografts) or a donor (allografts), but these methods can only be applied when the area to be repaired is not very large. Fortunately, researchers have started developing larger scaffolds from scratch starting by testing different materials. Calcium Phosphates/CaP polymers composites present a promising alternative to allogenic and autogolous bone grafts in order to address the growing needs of the population, and much of the research on these compounds is scaffold based. A scaffold alone can be used to guide bone regeneration and repair defects or be combined with cells and/or biologics, which are added to further enhance bone regeneration. There are several characteristics that are considered to be essential for bone scaffolds, such as biocompatibility, osteoconductivity and interconnected porosity. Other considerations in bone scaffold design and optimization include biodegradability, permeability and mechanical integrity. In their survey article, Amy J. Wagoner Johnson and Brad A. Herschler compiled data about porosity, composition, microstructure, flaws, and relailability of different types of CaP polymers for the purpose of providing useful information in the design of bone tissue bioscaffolds.

I found this article very interesting since it deals with a subject that we have gone through in one of our SNBALs. It also appeals to me that this survey on CaPs was made by the Department of Engineering and Material Science of the University of Illinois. It is the perfect example of how pure engineering principles are integrated with biology concepts to solve a biomedical problem.

Source: http://bit.ly/acXK6g

Emotion Processing in Brain Is Influenced by Color of Ambient Light

Researchers in Europe have discovered a link between light color and brain response. The researchers found that the color of the ambient light in a person’s environment has an effect on how that person’s brain will process an emotional stimulus. A group of people were exposed to “angry” and neutral stimuli and blue and green light, while MRI scans of their brains were taken. When exposed to the blue light, the people had increased responses in their hippocampus regions, as well as more interaction between their hypothalamus and amygdala regions. The blue light had a direct effect on the way each person perceived the angry stimulus, suggesting that the brain processes stressful stimuli better while the person is exposed to blue light. Researchers are trying to apply this discovery to see if they can discover a link between light color and mood, in order to treat mood disorders using light therapy.

I found this article interesting because I have a tendency to get stressed. If I could keep my mind clear, be less stressed and have a better mood just by changing the lighting in my environment, I would. Currently we focus on giving “moody” individuals “happy pills”. Being able to help those individuals with fewer drugs is appealing to me.

http://bioengineersatwork.blogspot.com/2010/09/sneaking-spies-into-cells-nucleus.html

Factors That Affect Mass Transport in Drug Eluding Stents into the Artery Wall

"Coronary artery disease can be treated by implanting a stent into the blocked region of an artery, thus enabling blood perfusion to distal vessels. Minimally invasive procedures of this nature often result in damage to the arterial tissue culminating in the re-blocking of the vessel. In an effort to alleviate this phenomenon, known as restenosis, drug eluting stents were developed. They are similar in composition to a bare metal stent but encompass a coating with therapeutic agents designed to reduce the overly aggressive healing response that contributes to restenosis. There are many variables that can influence the effectiveness of these therapeutic drugs being transported from the stent coating to and within the artery wall, many of which have been analysed and documented by researchers. However, the physical deformation of the artery substructure due to stent expansion, and its influence on a drugs ability to diffuse evenly within the artery wall have been lacking in published work to date. The paper highlights previous approaches adopted by researchers and proposes the addition of porous artery wall deformation to increase model accuracy."

I found this article interesting because of its application to our current device design project. Stents themselves have been a major breakthrough in temporarily "removing the blockage" to allow perfusion to the distal coronary arteries. In coating these stents with some form of therapeutic drugs, the utility of these stents has been exponentially increased. It allows the localization of a drug, can increase the longevity of the stent, and overall, it can buy more time for the patient before the restenosis of the artery.

Bioengineered Organs

Functional miniature livers have been grown at the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Cells were taken from animal livers and then progenitor cells and endothelial cells filled in the collagen support structure. They were then put in a bioreactor which provided an environment with appropriate nutrients for new liver tissue to develop. The livers were determined to be individually functional but they have not yet been implanted to test if the body will accept them. It is possible that the body could reject the newly grown liver or stop functioning once inside the body. They consider this a small but significant step in the right direction towards more organ regeneration.

I found this article extremely interesting because I believe this is the area of biomedical engineering I want to go into. I think this is an amazing development and will be limitlessly beneficial once growing organs becomes successful and regular. The problem of organ donors would be eliminated and this would create an option for research and testing without the issues of living test subjects.

http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978650959

New Research Into Blood Tests for Concussions

Researchers across the nation and specifically at the University of Rochester are looking for easier, more accurate ways to test for concussion brain injury after a traumatic injury to the head. One test that is being conducted is looking into the more subtle damage caused to an axon during a concussion. Current methods of testing only search for abnormal bleeding in the brain, whereas new methods would search for swelling of the axon by use of a Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) indicating earlier signs of brain damage. A second test that is being conducted involves the surplus amount of proteins and other cellular components that are released once the brain cell is damaged. After the injury, the brain cells would release their specific proteins into the blood which could then be noticed in a serum test.

This is important because it is much cheaper than the expensive brain scans necessary to detect abnormal bleeding, and this can be done much easier, for example in a portable laboratory in a military setting. This new innovative method for determining brain damage and concussions seems interesting to me because of the cellular applications at work. The prodrome of the axonal degradation ultimately leading to more problematic effects is easily linked to information that we have studied recently in neurological cells. It is important to see how current research is associated to information that we research in class.

http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/story/index.cfm?id=1656

How do we kill rogue cells? Assassin's tricks revealed in Nature today

A team of Melbourne and London researchers have shown how a protein called perforin punches holes in, and kills, rogue cells in our bodies. Their discovery of the mechanism of this assassin is published today in the science journal Nature. "Perforin is our body's weapon of cleansing and death," says project leader Prof James Whisstock from Monash University. "It breaks into cells that have been hijacked by viruses or turned into cancer cells and allows toxic enzymes in, to destroy the cell from within. Without it our immune system can't destroy these cells. Now we know how it works, we can start to fine tune it to fight cancer, malaria and diabetes," he says. The first observations that the human immune system could punch holes in target cells was made by the Nobel laureate Jules Bordet over 110 years ago. But how? Researchers from Monash University and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, and Birkbeck College in London collaborated on the ten-year study to unravel the molecular structure and function of perforin—the protein responsible. The structure was revealed with the help of the Australian Synchrotron, and with powerful electron microscopes at Birkbeck. Combining the detailed structure of a single perforin molecule with the electron microscopy reconstruction of a ring of perforins forming a hole in a model membrane reveals how this protein assembles to punch holes in cell membranes. The new research has confirmed that the important parts of the perforin molecule are quite similar to those in toxins deployed by bacteria such as anthrax, listeria and streptococcus. "The molecular structure has survived for close to two billion years, we think," says Prof Joe Trapani, head of the Cancer Immunology Program at Peter Mac. "This work is a dramatic illustration of the importance of the synchrotron," says Whisstock. "We simply couldn't have done it without this wonderful facility." The weapon of death is a powerful molecule. If perforin isn't working properly the body can't fight infected cells. And there is evidence from mouse studies, says Trapani, that defective perforin leads to an upsurge in malignancy, particularly leukaemia. Perforin is also the culprit when the wrong cells are marked for elimination, either in autoimmune disease conditions, such as early onset diabetes, or in tissue rejection following bone marrow transplantation. So the researchers are now investigating ways to boost perforin for more effective cancer protection and therapy for acute diseases such as cerebral malaria. And with the help of a $1 million grant from the Wellcome Trust they are working on potential inhibitors to suppress perforin and counter tissue rejection.

I chose this article because I am very interested in cancer cells, i first started my search looking for viruses that had been bio-engineered to fight cancer and luckily came upon this article which describes a theory that seems easier and more applicable in the near term. I like the idea that not only is it a defender against cancer but also a culprit when the wrong cells are marked. By studying this protein many possibilities could be discovered in fighting cancer and boosting its prevention possibilities.

http://www.bioprodmag.com/News/Feeds/2010/10/disease-research-how-do-we-kill-rogue-cells-/

Functional nerve cells from adult skin cells generated by UConn scientists

Researchers from UConn have successfully shown that stem cells derived from adult skin cells can be converted to functionable cells of the forebrain, midbrain, and spinal cord.

The obtained adult skin cells were reprogrammed to transform into induced pluripotent stem cells. These reprogrammed cells are identical to embryonic stem cells. To obtain the embryonic-like pluripotent cells, the adult skin cells were exposed to a specialized culture. Obtaining the specialized neuronal cells was accomplished by treating the reprogrammed cells to a series of chemical mixtures.

The ability to convert adult skin cells to embryonic-like cells eliminates the option of destroying human embryos to obtain human embryonic stem cells. However, some researchers are uncertain whether induced pluripotent stem cells are of the same quality as human embryonic stem cells.

This is a really exciting article because the UConn lab is the first lab to obtain human induced pluripotent stem cells to create functional neurons in region specific areas of the brain and spinal cord. By using human induced pluripotent cells, scientists will potentially be able to create perfect matches of cells for patient-specific therapies that would be immune to rejection. With continued research, therapies for neurological diseases can be achieved.

http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-10-functional-nerve-cells-adult-skin.html

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0011853

First person treated with Embryonic Stem Cells

The Geron Corp. doctors used human embryonic stem cells to inject into the first patient to ever receive the embryonic stem cells. The embryonic stem cells came from a embryos that were going to be discarded. The cells were taken and matured a little before they were inserted into the patient who had a spinal cord injury. These embryonic stem cells still had the ability to differentiate into any cell in the human body. The clinical trial took place in Atlanta, Georgia. In order for a patient to receive the stem cells, they must have had an injury very recent.


This is important to me because with embryonic stem cells, people with paralyzing injuries could eventually be healed with this type of treatment. The use of these cells is very controversial, but what is interesting is that these cells are taken from embryos that were going to be discarded anyway. These embryos can come from fertility clinics. As a biomedical engineer, I want to be able to use embryonic stem cells in order to find cures for different diseases. People who suffer from a disease need a cure because diseases or paralysis is a serious issue. The people who suffer from this do not get to experience life as it should be. As long as there is embryos that are going to be discarded, why not put them to a good cause? I understand that it is a human being, but I also know first hand the damage caused by disease and paralysis. I hope that this treatment is successful, so that those who do not agree with this will understand just how important this treatment could be.

Source: www.reuters.com/articles/idUSN1117596620101011
Austen Adamcik VTPP 434-501

Scientists Identify Gene that may Cause Higher Levels of Drowsiness

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia have found a genetic link between people with higher levels of drowsiness when sleep deprived than those who do not have this gene. The gene is called DQB1*0602. It has been linked to cases of narcolepsy, although not all carriers develop narcolepsy, and not all patients with this condition are carriers for the disease. The study was conducted by giving the subjects 2 nights of complete rest (10 hours of sleep), and then 5 nights of 4 hours of sleep where the subjects were kept up in well lit rooms and their diets restricted from caffeine, bananas, excesses of vitamins and other substances that could influence the waking state. The subjects with the gene did not preform as well on tests for mental capabilities, and had higher levels of drowsiness. They also woke up more during the night and spent less time in deep sleep and stage 3 sleep, regardless of what amount of sleep they were getting. When they were sleep deprived, these differences were more pronounced. Doctors say that this could influence which people need caffeine or other substances that people use to stay awake. This could also affect the workplace when people witch to night shifts, as well as travelers who may experience jet lag and the drowsiness that results from it.

This is especially interesting to me because I have troubles with drowsiness, and I often go without enough sleep to make sure that I get my work done. More knowledge about sleep could help people like me have better sleeping habits and not feel so bad during the day. Knowledge of this subject could also help people be aware of potential sleep problems that may cause them to become dependent on unhealthy amounts of caffeine or energy drinks to try and stay awake.

Tyler Terrill

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/205870.php

Synthetic Brains

Researchers at the University of Southern California are building neurons from carbon nanotubes that could emulate human brain function.

Unlike computer software that simulates brain function, the challenges of creating a synthetic brain will include hardware that emulates brain cells, the brains amazing complexity and plasticity. Not forgetting the scale factor. If the team is able to construct the synthetic brain it would take 100 billion artificial neurons and a very large brain. Power is another consideration, mainly because our brains never turn off (unless we are dead.)Do this numbers sound familiar? Remember the first digital computer, ENIAC, way back in 1946 that weighed 50 tons and occupied almost 1,800 square feet and consumed almost 150kW of power?

Right now, the researchers are building mathematical models that can accurately reflect the byzantine connections of all neurons and their ability to communicate with each other. Each neuron in the cortex will represent a part of the brain that significantly contributes to conscious thought and intelligence.

Portions of the neuron can already be modeled electronically using carbon nanotube circuit models. The researchers also believe that carbon nanotubes would be the ideal material for the synthetic brain.

But beyond all the math, material and scaling required, the question of incorporating emotions to the synthetic brain will be paramount for effective learning and function.

If this is not a waste of the National Science Foundation’s money (and I dare not imply that it is) then I can only imagine the immense applications in could revolutionize neural prosthetics and bionics.

Source: http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=112947&org=NSF

Christine Otieno

VTTP 434-501

The power (and underestimated accuracy) of the subconcious in quick decision making

This article summarizes a book entitled Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. The book investigates the ability of the human brain to come to conclusions within seconds, as suggested by the title. It explains how the brain is capable of forming subconsious decisions before the person has time to conciously reason through a delimma. It also goes on to verify the correctness of these split second decisions with scientific, mathematical, and experimental research.

The article mentions "thin sliciing" which "refers to the ability of our unconcious to find patterns in situations and behavior based on very narrow slices of experience" (p.23). This allows your brain to perform a remarkable and extremely rapid cognition, insinuating that it may come to a conclusion before you have even taken time to recognize and analyze the situation. This impies that humans' natural instincts may be more accurate and reliable than the conlusion reached solely by analytical thought.

The article also mentions how Gladwell believes that by understanding our "blink" decision making, we may be able to become better decision makers overall. By understanding the importance of our first impressions and how they are formed, harnessing our "blink" instincts could ultimately result in a higher level of decision making.

This particular article was of great interest to me for many reasons. The first is that I recently recieved Blink as a birthday present and have been reading it nonstop since and thought other students would take interest in it. Quite honestly, I couldn't share the book via a link online, so I picked an article that summarized it. Though this results in the post being less technical than usual, I don't believe this detracts from the significance of its physiological implications. Secondly, the serendipitous timing of recieving the book while studying for our neurophysiology exam made the book all the more interesting. Learning about the synergistic functionality of the brain while also reading through the book's examples of its quick higher level functioning really took my interest of the interconnectedness of neurophysiology and psychology to a deeper level.

http://humanresources.about.com/od/workrelationships/a/blink_effect.htm

New Research allows Miniature Human Livers to be make in Lab

Scientists at Wake Forest University Baptist Center have been able to use human liver cells to successfully replicate a miniature human liver. This huge achievement is a small step, and may lead to a full transplantation in an animal model. Benefits of making a liver will allow people who need organ transplants to receive one if there are none available. It may be used to test the safety of new drugs without actually experimenting on a human. One of the many hurdles of this artificial kidney will be the ability to grow billions of cells and make the sure the human body doesn’t reject the kidney.
The scientists used “animal livers that were treated with a mild detergent to remove all cells” thus leaving only the collagen. They replaced the animal cells with human cells. They were “immature liver cells” called progenitors and endothelial cells for the blood vessels. The human cells would be introduced to the liver by entering through a large blood vessel that fed into smaller vessels. Next, the liver was placed into a bioreactor that fed important nutrients and oxygen throughout the liver. During the week, the scientists were discovering that the human liver tissue was developing.
This new way of developing entire organs will not only be beneficial to kidney disease, but also bioengineering entire kidneys and pancreases. The bioengineered kidneys will prove useful for testing drugs because it will not involve an actual test subject. The way that the drug will be metabolized will be more similar to a human rather than an animal.
This article appealed to me because it shows the advances in human bioengineering. It is amazing how in the next few years, artificial organs could be developed. This is important because the need for kidney donors will decrease and allow drug tests to be done. I was also interested in this article because my grandpa has diabetes. If new pancreases are made, a diabetes patient could receive a transplant for the pancreas allowing the diabetes to be treated. Especially with many millions of Americans having diabetes, a treatment to cure the disease would be incredible.

Newly Discovered Gene Enables Fish to 'Disappear'

Researchers at Vanderbilt discovered that the agouti gene family has a new member called AgRP2 that enables fish to change colors to match their surroundings. The two other genes in this family are the agouti protein and the agouti-related protein (AgRP). The agouti protein inhibits the melanocortin-1 receptor in the pigment cells of the body from producing dark pigments, which causes it to produce red-yellow pigments instead. This phenomenon can be seen in mammals when the seasons change. It also plays a major role in hair and skin color. AgRP has a similar effect on the melanocortin-4 receptor in the brain. This receptor is responsible for inhibition of food intake, so when AgRP blocks it, the brain sends signals to the body that stimulates the drive for eating. This may be an important cause for obesity (although I blame all the fast food restaurants). The new gene that these researchers discovered, AgRP2, regulates the expression on pmch and pmchl, two prohormone genes that are precursors to melanin-concentrating hormone. This causes pigments to lighten and has been proven to be the gene responsible to aid fish in "camouflaging" themselves with their surroundings.

I found this article particularly interesting because my dad is in the fish selling business. Also, I think it is very interesting that this one gene family can control so many different aspects of the mammal or fish.

Rachel Anthony

VTPP 434-501

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101029132928.htm

Tactile Display for Sensory Feedback in a Prosthetic Hand System

Swedish researchers are attempting to overcome one of the main issues surrounding hand and forearm prosthetics, which is a lack of conscious sensory feedback. The proposed solution is a sensory feedback system utilizing a tactile display on the remaining section of the amputated limb providing an interface bridging the gap between the person and the machine. The system works by recording pressure in the hand prosthesis and relaying it to the skin of the forearm. The tactile input that would ordinarily be received by the hand is relocated to the forearm, which should provide a sense of the prosthetic being a part of the body, resulting in more frequent and more reliable use by the amputee.

The article goes into great detail regarding the technical aspects of the system. On the residual limb or forearm, a number of actuators will be placed corresponding to the number of missing digits in the hand. These actuators will house electronics and software capable of interacting with the prosthetic hand itself as well as an outside computer, in the interest of gathering research or for sensor calibration. When the prosthetic came in contact with a surface, the relationships between force, skin displacement, contact angle, and duration of contact were studied and factor into the resulting response relayed to the forearm. While sensory relay on a level of that possessed by a real hand is currently unobtainable, the rudimentary level of sensation provided by this device is a step forward in the realm of prosthetics.

This article was of interest to me because I find the thought of life-like prosthetics becoming a reality to be exciting. Bridging the gap between the biological and the mechanical and creating a cybernetic organism is both frightening and interesting in itself, and opens up a realm of questions about life in addition to providing better aid to amputees. Modern prosthetics currently attempt to provide some return to form or functionality, but their success in that regard is highly situational and variable, at best. Crafting a machine the accurately mimics a biological system is no small task, and integrating it with a living system is still very distant technology, but I believe it’s within our reach.

Link: http://www.biomedical-engineering-online.com/content/9/1/50

John Gruetzner

VTPP 434 - 501

Three-dimensional Maps of Brain Wiring

In the past, the only way for a neurosurgeon to view the entire mapping of the brain he/she had to operate. With the new technology of High Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging (HARDI), researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology have developed a software tool that "physicians can use to easily study the wiring of the brains of their patients ."

One practical application of this new technology comes into play in deep brain stimulation. Thanks to this "new tool," neurosurgeons can accurately determine where to place the electrodes for stimulation rather than needing to induce a seizure in the patient to determine the location in the brain.

I find this article interesting because it allows surgeons to know in advance how a patients brain is mapped, allowing them to make less errors. Since there is so much of the brain we still do not know, this tool is important because it is bringing scientists and surgeons one step closer in solving the great mystery of the brain

James Spencer

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/206213.php

PGE's Linked to Allergies and Asthma

In a recent scientific investigation of volatile organic compounds (VOC's) that were widely used in homes, PGE's or propylene glycol and glycol ethers, were linked to allergies. The study was done with studies on the air in the room of about 400 toddlers and babies. What they discovered, was that children who sleep within bedrooms containing PGE's (from water-based paints and solvents) were two to four times more likely to develop allergies or asthma.

The children in this study had noticeably worse conditions from allergies to eczema, and in severe cases even hormone damages. What's strange though was that the PGE's within the rooms were still at remarkably low concentrations. This was especially true when compared to the amounts inhaled by workers who suffer from throat irritation and breathing problems. Thus, to help validate their study they compared the concentrations to the degree of symptoms, and found a direct correlation, showing that as the concentration of the PGE's were increased, so to did the severity of the associated problems. PGE's were always known to have caused some problems, but were never linked until recently to allergies, and may play a role in the growing numbers of kids inflicted with such conditions. Unfortunately, no specific compound could be exactly identified, but they hope to help regulate the use of such chemicals, such as repainting rooms years before expecting children if possible.

I found this article to be incredibly interesting since I suffer from mild allergies. It's interesting to see how PGE's can actually harm a child's immune system even at such low concentrations. I hope to see later applications of this study into ways of reducing allergy inducing compounds.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=volatile-organic-compounds

Low Resolution Cameras to Measure Vitals

Medical technology may soon make an appearance in your bathroom mirror, on your cell phone, or even your laptop.  Graduate students at the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program have created software that measures variations of brightness on the skin due to blood flow to estimate heart rate with computer imaging only.

Future applications for the device may include recording of respiration rates, blood-oxygen levels, and even blood pressure.  Best of all, the software requires a low resolution camera, so the practical applications in the digital age are limitless.

This article interested me for several reasons.  First, mounds of medical data that could prove useful in preventative medicine as well as diagnosis can be done in real time and on demand from a distance.  This could be anything from analyzing trends in one’s vitals that signal the onset of an illness to emergency situations where using a cell phone camera could provide data essential to the administration of care.

Second, individuals with conditions that require frequent monitoring of blood pressure or vitals could readily have access to the information in a quick, effortless manner.  The accumulation of data could be analyzed to provide better care, and also help doctors makes decisions based on greater information.

Ultimately, it would appear that aspects of medicine are soon to be personalized and present in everyday life.  So when it comes to blood pressure, yes, there may soon be an “app” for that.

Source:

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-10/low-cost-low-res-cameras-could-soon-continuously-monitor-your-vital-signs

Johns Hopkins Researchers Discover How To Erase Memory

Very recently, researchers at Johns Hopkins University uncovered what may at first sight seem to be straight out of a science fiction or fantasy novel – the ability to selectively erase memories. Experimenting on lab mice, the team examined the cause of memory formation, specifically fear memory formation, which seemed to be linked to proteins in the nerve cells of the amygdala. The mice were exposed to a fear-inducing loud tone, and the level of protein in their brains was monitored. They found temporary increases in the amount of the particular proteins, calcium-permeable AMPARs, which peaked at 24 hours of exposure, and subsided after 48 hours. The calcium-permeable AMPARs are a particularly unstable protein, and can be removed from nerve cells. As a result, the hypothesis was that by removing these proteins, fear memories could be permanently erased as well as possibly the entire fear in general, through the removal of proteins and subsequent behavior therapy.

I found this article to be very interesting primarily because fear-induced trauma, as well as trauma in general, is a leading cause of social and mental disorders in humans, and while the operations were only conducted on mice, the potential of such a method could yield amazing results in the future. Furthermore, a close family friend of mine has in the past three years suffered from progressive depression resulting from several subsequent traumatizing events, and is very mentally unstable. If this therapy progresses and develops into a feasible treatment for fear/fear memory removal for people (as opposed to just mice), the population of people suffering from depression and trauma could be significantly reduced, not to mention suicide rates. While operations to remove a brain protein seem at best extremely risky with today’s technology, the possibility of doing so in the future is promising.

Source:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/206204.php

Jeff Cao

VTPP 434, Section 502

New Tumor Proteins May Identify a Range of Cancers Early

The detection of tumors at the earliest stage possible is a necessity in most cases for effective administration of cancer treatment. In this article a set of proteins labeled PL2L proteins were found in a new cell type labeled precancerous stem cells. With the use of these as identification markers a far earlier set of detection methods and cell specific treatments could occur.

In the article Jian-Xin Gao and his colleagues found that a new cell type expressed Piwil2 gene which gives rise to the PL2L protein. Piwil2 gives rise to multiple forms of the protein PL2L such as PL2L40, PL2L50, PL2L60 and PL2L80. Of these, PL2L60 is the most prolific in tumor cells. Using antibodies Gao found PL2L60 in multiple cancer cell types in the human body as well as in mice all through out the body. It is believed that while it most likely is a cause for the tumors, it does not work in the same process as other oncogenes. If all of Gao’s finding continue to hold true then it would seem that the early detection as well as specific treaments may be possible or as Jian-Xin Gao said. "We believe we may have identified a common tumor antigen that may play a role in tumor development generally and serve as a bridge linking cancer diagnostics and anticancer drug development,"

I found this article particularly interesting for two reasons, first as far as fields of medicine go I have an interest in oncology and am considering the possibility of pursuing that particular field. So any information that allows me to further investigate the field is of some significance to me. The second is that a pastor by the name of Matt Chandler, who currently teaches at the Village Church in Dallas Texas, was diagnosed with oligodendroglioma in his frontal lobe roughly a year ago. He has since then been treated with chemo and radiation and has for the time being had it go into recession.

Sources

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101020171605.htm

Researchers engineer adult stem cells that do not age

Researchers at the University of Buffalo have successfully engineered adult mesenchymal stem cells that grow indefinitely in culture. This has the potential to make stem cells treatments and research much more cost-effective. Currently, if a doctor or researcher wants to use stem cells, they have to constantly get new samples from bone marrow donors. By making the cell cultures live longer, the researchers would need much less. This also negates the problem that they have with varying degrees of performance in cells from different donors by allowing researchers to use the same donor's stem cells throughout the entire experiment. I found this article interesting because this research has the potential to make stem cell research much more cost-effective and I believe that stem cells have the potential to be used to treat many diseases and conditions that have unknown cures. By making this research cheaper, I think it will provide incentive for more universities and pharmaceutical companies to increase their research in this field.

http://www.breakthroughdigest.com/medical-news/researchers-engineer-adult-stem-cells-that-do-not-age/

Too Many Sisters Affect Male Sexuality

David Crews, a psychobiologist at the University of Texas at Austin, has been studying how the lives of early rats affect their adult life. Interestingly he has found that the ratio of male to female siblings in a family unit can play a significant role in the male's masculinity and attractiveness to other females.
Some researchers have found that female fetuses sandwiched between two males tend to grow up with more masculine qualities because of the contact with the male hormones in the womb. But the ratio of male to female fetuses in utero itself had no affect on adult personality.
Crews focuses more on after birth influences in his study. Males growing up with more male siblings, more female siblings, and equal numbers of male and female siblings were all studied. Results showed that while all the male rats were sexually active, males that grew up in families with more males, or equal numbers of males and females spent more time mating and were more attractive to females.
Though this study only proves that this phenomenom is true in rats, the results can be correlated to human development. It shows that family life, the male to female ratios of the family, and interactions with family members play a major role in personality development.
Sexual orientation is a hot topic of depate today. Whether its hereditary or caused by environmental factors. I think this is an interesting debate and I chose this arcticle because I think there could be some overlap between the two. Its amazing to me how much your family shapes your personality, social life, and even sexuality.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/205485.php

Space Suit Prototype May Prevent Bone Loss in Astronauts

Currently, astronauts lose 1-2% bone mass for each month that they are in space despite their required exercise regimens. This could prove to be a major issue during future flights (such as to Mars) that may take years. This new suit is designed to imitate the pull of gravity on the body, although the current design does not exert enough force on the lower legs. This is achieved by making the suit slightly shorter than normal and adding elastic stirrups that go around the wearer's feet. The pull exerts a force on the body that should theoretically reduce bone loss.

I found this article interesting because this has always been a major issue in space flight, and is even more so now that long term flights are being considered. This could be the future of space travel!

Source: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-10/superhero-style-skin-tight-spacesuit-provides-healthy-compression-astronauts

Bringing Sight to the Blind

This article describes similar research done for the same intentions as the article below; to help the blind to see, but by a different group of researchers, using different methods.

At the Doheny Eye Institute at the Univ. of Southern California, Dr. Humayun has developed a device that can be put into the eye that receives information from an external camera, and stimulates the optic nerves to provide a limited amount of “sight.” Originally, in 2005, this device had 16 electrodes in it, and was 4mm by 5mm. They had implanted it into 6 patients, all of whom gained a small degree of vision. These patients slowly get used to these devices, and eventually got to the point where they could recognize direction of motion.

As of January 2010, Dr. Humayun has been able to fit 60 pixels into a 1mm by 1mm device, greatly improving the quality of vision given to his patients, and giving hope that eventually, the entire device will be able to be implanted, without the use of an external camera. Patients with this device were able to get much more information out of their “eyes”; They could “recognize large objects such as the door, the chair, the table.” They could also read very large letters.

This article interests me because, during my senior year, I met a man who gave a lecture on this research, who worked with Dr. Humayun. I was so impressed by what this man had done, that after hearing the lecture, I was encouraged to major in Biomedical Engineering. I would like to do something along the lines of this research with my degree.

Video Interview with Dr. Humayun: http://www.thirteen.org/curious/survival/artificial-retina-uncut-interview-with-dr-humayun/21/

Sources:

2005: http://www.rdmag.com/Awards/Innovator-Of-The-Year/2005/08/Bringing-Sight-to-the-Blind/

2010: http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=23447

New Discovery offers hope to sufferers of osteoarthiritis

Osteoarthritis, wearing of the cartilage between joints, results in the breakdown of this slippery tissue that serves to protect the bones and cause them to easily glide over one another. Through mechanical wear this can produce pain and uncomfortable swelling and often lack of movement. A study conducted in North Carolina has directly taken a look at the mechanical wear while using a glycoprotein synovial fluid, Lubricin which is both a "lubricant of artcular cartilage and an anti-adhesive protein" . Directly focusing on cartilige wear instead of friction and lubrication, a study not done before, they were able to see a clear correlation between Lubricin and reduced cartilage wear. This proof of physiological protection to the cartilage tissue prove hopeful for more uses and future joint disease prevention.

This article personally interests me as a frequent runner. As runners, while we are advised to not run on concrete and wear fully supportive shoes, we inevitably are putting tremendous amounts of contact force on our joints and can increase the likelihood of osteoarthritis through mechanical wear of the cartilage tissue in our knees and ankles. Development and testing of materials like Lubricin provide hope and further research into areas of not only joint disease treatment, but potential prevention. This study, directly examining the wear, or lack of with Lubricin is leading to a greater understanding that may eventually help runners and reduce the prevalence of joint disease.

Kate Vincent
artice URL - http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/new-discovery-offers-hope-to-sufferers-of-osteoarthritis_100448846.html

additonal info - http://www.sbhsciences.com/Lubricin.asp

Mind-Reading Scanner Could Record and Analyze Dreams, Says Brain Researcher

Dreams and our remembrance of such are still a concept widely discussed in the fields of both neurology and psychology. In order to more accurately research the phenomenon of brain activity during sleep cycles, Dr. Moran Cerf is attempting to build a database based upon which an individual's recollection of their dream and the corresponding neurons in the brain that fire when the individual's memory is recounted can be analyzed in a cohesive manner. In this way, patients who recount their dreams during therapy can be followed by their specific portion of Cerf's database created by the patient themselves that ties present thoughts to the internalized neurons that are firing at the moment.

Though the research done by Cerf is limited to only a singular thought or idea and the corresponding neurons mapped electronically in the brain, this study has the potential to evolve into something much more. Over time, we may see the possibility of entire dreams being mapped electronically into a free-flowing visualization. Or possibly, in respect to more therapeutic means, this system may be able to identify what an incommunicative person is thinking and allow a simple input-output system to communicate with them. In a sense, this means that thought-controlled machines could be a very real possibility in the future. For now, Cerf and his colleagues are working on identifying what an individual is dreaming of based upon the different areas of the brain that respond during a sleep cycle. This is being done exclusively with patients with electrodes already inside their brains to treat them for seizures, but understanding neuron-thought correspondence is the first step in a promising future in neurological health and medicine.

I found this article to be very interesting as it pertains primarily to a hybridized system between computer integration and neurological input/output. In understanding what portions of the brain are associated with simple thoughts, complexities can be deciphered and eventually unified into a cohesive unit that demonstrates a train of progressive thoughts and ideas. Therapeutically, advances in this area may lead to devices which may help those that cannot speak or communicate effectively lead more normal and functioning lives. Through simple steps in sleep studies, the neurological network of thought and action can be created to delve deeper into the realms of the mind which may be consciously or subconsciously controlled. As I am interested primarily in neurological studies, this article provides a foundation of future research in a rapidly growing subsection of neurology which may lead to countless innovations in the near future.

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-10/mind-reading-dream-recorder-could-lend-insights-brain-function-even-if-it-doesnt-record-dreams

Clay Dillow- 10/27/10

~Andrew Wagner VTPP 434-502

Painless Laser Tissue Analysis Could Replace X-Rays Within Five Years

Both painless and portable, laser devices could use Raman spectrometry to check blood glucose levels in diabetics without drawing in blood. This same test could also diagnosis tumors, tooth decay, and high cholesterol levels without drawing blood. How could lasers affectively diagnosis a condition?

Raman spectrometry is already used in chemistry, pharmaceutical research, and cadaver analysis, thus increasing its reliability. This spectrometry identifies molecules based on their wavelengths and intensity of laser light scattered after the light passes through. Consequent to this effectiveness, a person’s tissue could be analyzed based on its chemical makeup within tissue. The best part—the tissue would not need to be extracted from the person for analysis. Consequently, this technique is also noninvasive. These lasers could also test to see if a breast tissue growth is malignant or benign, thus replacing the need for a biopsy.

This discovery does not only benefit the patients. In fact, the advance could save money and man hours because it could replace the need of battery that other diagnostics require and the lab work time would also decrease significantly.

I am extremely happy to know about this Raman spectroscopy possibility because I am not a huge fan of needles. For example, this Raman spectroscopy technique could save all us from having blood drawn for a cholesterol test in the future. Furthermore, I realize the importance of reducing radiation dose, and this test could in fact eliminate the need for X-rays. After seeing a few patients undergo a biopsy this summer, I can passionately advocate further research immediately. One of the patients had to have a double biopsy. Since the patient lies face down in the procedure her body weight on the first operated on breast caused it to continue to bleed. Only after both procedures were done did the doctors realize this occurrence. Ultimately she had to lie on her back while doctors applied pressure to the wounds. So not only did she have to worry about having cancer, she had to see herself covered in blood and then lay there awake while doctors treated the bleeding. If fewer women have to uncomfortably lie on that operating table to see if they have malignant cancer then the development of this technique should be worked on day and night!

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-09/painless-non-invasive-lasers-could-replace-x-ray-needles-five-years

Clay Dillow – September 27, 2010

Leanne Kristek, VTPP 434-501

Crossing Blood-Brain Barrier: New Hope for New Class of Alzheimer's Disease Drugs

Alzheimer's disease is the seventh leading cause of death and affects millions of people in the U.S. alone, but researchers believe that they have made a breakthrough in the hope of creating a drug that helps patients cope with Alzheimer’s.

The main problem when creating drugs to help patients with Alzheimer’s disease (and other neurological diseases) is finding a chemical able to cross the blood-brain barrier, which are tight junctions in the brain capillaries that prevent free exchange of many substances between the blood and the cerebrospinal fluid. In a healthy brain, the microtubules in nerve cells are stabilized by protein tau, and serve the important function of transporting cellular material. In a brain affected by Alzheimer’s disease, protein tau clumps in the brain due to it becoming insoluble. When this happens, regular protein tau is reduced, and the microtubules become less stable.

Researchers have been using microtubule stabilizing drugs to offset tangles of tau and balance the loss of normal tau function, and have recently discovered a class of drugs that can enter the blood-brain barrier to stabilize the degrading neurons and also improve learning and memory. Years ago, it was shown that the anti-cancer drug paclitaxel advanced spinal cord function in animals with protein tau tangles in their brain, but it could not cross the blood-brain barrier. Now researchers are looking into the epothilone class of agents, especially epothilone D, to stabilize microtubules. The epothilone class of drugs are microtubule binding drugs that come from marine sponges and keep cells from dividing by over stabilizing the microtubules. When researchers gave mice epothilone D, the brain function of the mice improved, even though the mice had tau clumps, broken down microtubules, and deteriorated axons. Epo D also reduced memory and learning deficit in the mice. These results show that epo D, and microtubule stabilizing drugs in general, could be breakthrough ways to treat neurodegenerative diseases in humans.

I was interested in this article because it deals with neurophysiology and treatments of neurodegenerative diseases, which we recently discussed in class, and I was fascinated by it. I also found it interesting how they are treating this disease and the progress they have made.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101018151256.htm

New Breast Cancer Early Detection Technology

Breast cancer is the second biggest killer in women. The current way of detecting breast cancer is mammography, which is relatively inaccurate for women under the age of 50. At this age, it is even more important to get an accurate diagnosis because early detection and treatment is what saves lives.

Professor Wu has invented a portable scanner based on radio frequency technology, which is able to show the presences of tumors in seconds. Patients can receive real-time video images, making the procedure quicker and less intrusive. This means that it can be done at smaller clinics as well as in the home and reduce the occurrence of unnecessary X-ray mammography. The radio frequency scanner uses computer tomography and uses the same technology as a cell phone. It is safe and low cost, as well as compact and therefore portable. The scanner works based on dielectric contrasts between normal and diseased breast tissues. The presence of a tumor or abnormality will show up in red as the sensor detects the difference in tissue contrasts. Malignant tissues have a higher permittivity and conductivity and therefore appear differently than normal ones.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. This article interested me because my mom is breast cancer survivor, and early detection had a huge part in that.

Aubrey Hildebrandt

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/206060.php

New DNA Tests Aimed at Reducing Colon Cancer

On Thursday, two new tests were described that could detect signs of colon cancer early. Early detection would allow doctors to remove precancerous and cancerous tumors before they develop into full fledge cancer. The use of these tests would also reduce the $14 billion cost of treating the disease in the US.

The fist test was developed by Exact Sciences and uses stool samples to spot four genes diagnostic of colon cancer. The second test developed by Epigenomics in Germany looks in the blood for changes in another gene called Septin 9. Both of these DNA tests are noninvasive and patients would be able to avoid uncomfortable colonoscopies, where a tube with a camera is inserted in the colon. These are also less expensive than getting a colonoscopy and could prove to be better since colonoscopies sometimes miss tumors in the upper parts of the intestine.

Both of these tests’ potential depends on their sensitivity and specificity. Exact Science said that tests were very specific and sensitive but when only tumor cells were tested. In actual stool tests, the numbers could be less promising since most of the DNA comes from the bacteria of the gut and only 0.01% is human DNA.

The advisor of Exact Science mentioned that stool tests must be 90% specificity, and now they are at 88%, not too far off. Epigenomics tests had a specificity of 93%. The only problem with Epigenomics is that the Septin 9 gene detected might not always develop into cancer, so the test might not make much sense economically. Overall though, with further research these tests could be very promising.

I found this article very interesting because a lot of research lately has been toward cancer, and even though no cure has been found yet, it is reassuring that groundbreaking progress is being made. In the article for example, it is mentioned how if “widely used, and regularly, [the tests] really do have the opportunity to eliminate colon cancer.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/29/health/29cancer.html?ref=health

New Approach to Light-based Nanomotors

It has been shown in multiple experiments that light can influence the motion of small-scale structures. One such example was the "optical tweezers" that was brought up in class at the beginning of the semester. In addition to holding objects in place, the technology has advanced to a point where the laser can transfer angular-momentum to objects that do not already have a motor mechanism. Thus, otherwise stationary objects can be made to rotate under the influence of a laser beam. Until recently, the approach to instigating rotation was altering the angular momentum of photons; a photon's angular momentum would be transfered to the object as it is absorbed.

A new development is that light without angular momentum is being used to rotate nanomotors. Instead of relying on the absorbed photon as a source of angular momentum, a gammadion-shaped gold propeller re-emits photons that have angular momentum. By the law of conservation of angular momentum, the motor after re-emitting a photon must have angular momentum equal and opposite of that of the new photon. This means that structures are now being developed that cater to the type of light available to the researchers, be it photons with angular momentum or without. This approach also allows the amount of total angular momentum to increase and permits the direction of rotation to be altered by the wavelength of the light.

I find this article interesting because it offers a different way of producing nano-scale movement: altering the properties of the nano-structure instead of the light. By changing the structure so it allows light without angular momentum to induce rotation, it permits the properties of the light to be less specific in the respect of angular momentum. Rather than tuning the angular momentum to affect rotation, it allows the light wavelength to control this property, allowing for different and possibly cheaper equipment to be used. Although not in the scope of the article, one possible implication is that the shape and properties of the propeller can be altered by chemical factors. Thus, if the environment of a nanobot implementing this technology were to change, the nanobot would be able to react in a different way even if the light is not altered. This can be used in a way that mimics chemotaxis.

Article:http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/v5/n8/pdf/nnano.2010.156.pdf

-Austin Butts

Identified Gene which Turn Stem Cells Cancerous

Stem cells are a special type of cell that could derive into almost anything given the right “condition.” They can evolve into any necessary cell needed in a developing human embryo or in adult with damage cells. Aside from the problem with the stem cells source, embryonic, another obstacle is uncontrollable cellular division. This sometime led to cancer. Therefore “by identifying a mechanism that regulates programmed cell death in precursor cells for blood or hematopoietic stem cells,” “scientist can balance stem cells' regenerative power against their potentially lethal potency.” A recent research from Maria Garcia-Fernandez and Hermann Steller, head of the Strang Laboratory of Apoptosis and Cancer Biology, found an “activity of a gene called Sept4 which encodes a protein, ARTS, that increases programmed cell death, or apoptosis.” After many experimental tests, Steller suggests that the premature silencing of the Sept4/ARTS pathway at the stem cell level may herald cancer to develop. By the identification of “the ARTS gene and its role in cancer cell death, it provides a potential target for new therapeutic approaches.”

I found this article to be interesting because it address the issue of controlling stem cells during it different differentiations. As we discuses about neurophysiology in class, there are many neuro-genetic diseases. Most are incurable despite today medical advancement. A general proposal of a cure for these diseases is stem cells. Yet, scientists still haven’t truly control stem cell differentiation into needed component or stopping it from differentiating. I hope that one day we can find a way to completely control stem cell differentiations.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/204782.php