A team of scientists created wearable technology that helps surgeons visualize cancer cells by making them glow blue, reducing the need for follow-up surgeries and associated costs. The innovation uses a custom video display, head-mounted device, and targeted molecular agent to distinguish cancer cells from healthy tissue.
Researchers found that collecting and bleeding horseshoe crabs for biomedical purposes causes short-term changes in their behavior and physiology. The study suggests delaying the blood harvest or improving transportation conditions could help the animals recover and breed again, potentially mitigating population declines.
Dan Arvizu, NREL director, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his leadership in the renewable and clean energy sectors. He was cited for promoting national balanced energy policies and making significant advancements in engineering education.
A new micro-robotic technique allows for precise construction of individual cell-encapsulating hydrogels, enabling true control over bottom-up tissue engineering. This breakthrough has the potential to revolutionize 3D printing and tissue engineering, addressing organ shortages and improving disease treatment.
Guohua Cao is developing a novel, five-dimensional micro-computer tomography scanner to image atherosclerotic plaques in transgenic mouse models. The system combines three separately developed technologies to provide high spatial and temporal resolution images of small animals.
A new study found that the public has a strong negative view of climate engineering, with approaches like carbon capture and cloud brightening being better received. The results suggest that even well-regarded techniques still have a net negative perception.
The Lancet research series aims to increase value and reduce waste in biomedical research by setting clear priorities, improving research design and conduct, and enhancing regulation and management. The series proposes metrics for stakeholders to monitor the implementation of recommendations.
The Henry M. Rowan Family Foundation is transforming engineering education at Rowan University with the establishment of a new doctoral program and the creation of the Henry Rowan Engineering Ph.D. Fellowship Program and the Henry Rowan Engineering Globalization Fellowship Program for Undergraduates.
Researchers developed an iPad-based early warning system for hospital patient monitoring, using vital signs to calculate a score and alert staff to potential issues. The system replaces traditional chart-based methods, enabling faster and more accurate care.
A new 3-D phase contrast X-ray imaging system will help evaluate and monitor bioengineered tissues in a living body. The technique addresses limitations of conventional X-ray imaging technologies.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have developed a new form of 'zero-dimensional' carbon nanotube that could revolutionize the field of electronics. The shorter nanotubes are more dispersible and potentially easier to process for industrial and biomedical applications.
A new study by Erin Cech at Rice University found that engineering students leave college less concerned about public welfare than when they entered. The research suggests that engineering education may foster a culture of disengagement regarding public welfare issues.
Researchers at NC State University have developed a technique to produce large quantities of gold nanorods while controlling their dimensions and optical properties. This allows for the creation of nanorods with tailored aspect ratios, essential for various biomedical applications.
The University of Missouri has received a $1.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue its Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP), which has trained 28 scholars since 2003. The program aims to increase diversity in biomedical sciences by providing research and educational experiences for post-bacc...
Biomedical researchers can now explore complex data sets with ease, thanks to CHOP's open-source platform, Harvest. The toolkit provides a user-friendly interface to navigate different types and levels of data, allowing users to construct queries to slice and dice data.
NYU has been awarded a grant to create a comprehensive biomedical research training program to prepare students and postdoctoral scholars for careers beyond academia. The program will provide career-training workshops, professional development, and job search support to approximately 1,100 trainees.
Researchers are developing a drug to prevent inflammation around implanted electrodes, which causes brain cells to degenerate and compromise the blood-brain barrier. Testing is underway to determine if administering the drug can improve outcomes and extend the lifespan of brain implants.
The National Institutes of Health is providing funding for innovative approaches to address workforce challenges in the biomedical research sector. The program aims to broaden trainees' exposure to multiple career options, enabling them to make meaningful contributions outside traditional academic research.
Professor Yasuhisa Asano received the 2013 Enzyme Engineering Award for his contributions to microbial degradation and transformation of nitrile compounds. He has engineered enzymes for large-scale production of amino acids, nucleic acids, and other biotechnological tools.
A biomedical research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute will use a new microthread technology to deliver adult stem cells into damaged hearts, aiming to promote muscle regeneration and improve heart function. The five-year project aims to advance cell therapies for people suffering from heart disease.
Two Tufts University biomedical graduate students, Seblewongel Asrat and Jennifer Nwankwo, have been awarded HHMI International Student Research Fellowships to study Legionnaires' disease and sickle cell disease. The fellowships provide $43,000 in funding for the first year, with renewal opportunities for two additional years.
Three winning teams received a $10,000 prize for their innovative projects addressing underserved populations and individuals with disabilities. The Personalized Monitoring of Enzyme Dynamics project focused on cancer treatment personalization, while the Microflora Refinement System tackled Clostridium difficile infections.
A new study has found that online tools, such as NEEShub and the project warehouse, are helping to accelerate progress in earthquake engineering and science. These platforms provide a centralized repository for experimental results, making them accessible to researchers, practitioners, and educational communities.
Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have developed a new metric called Risk Weighted Cumulative Exposure (RWE) to capture players' exposure to the risk of concussion over a football season. The study found that impact frequency was greater during games than practices, but overall exposure was greater during practices.
Researchers at UC Irvine are working on two groundbreaking projects to treat Type 1 diabetes: islet cell transplantation using ultrapure algae membranes and the development of an accurate insulin sensor for real-time blood sugar monitoring. These innovations aim to improve treatment options and potentially cure the disease.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have created a noninvasive brain-computer interface that allows people to control a flying robot using only their thoughts. The technology has the potential to help people with disabilities, such as paralysis or neurodegenerative diseases, regain mobility and independence.
Researchers at Duke University have developed a novel genetic editing technique that repairs faulty genes responsible for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The approach, which uses artificial enzymes to modify gene sequences, has shown promise in treating the disease, with over 60% of patients potentially benefiting from this new method.
The 2012-2013 first place team in the NASA RealWorld-InWorld Engineering Design Challenge consists of five high school juniors and seniors who developed innovative engineering designs for the James Webb Space Telescope. The winning team will present their design concept to Dr. John Mather at a VIP event at NASA Goddard.
Rice University research finds that professional culture in engineering contributes to gender wage inequality, with women underpaid for technical work and overpaid for social activities. The study highlights the importance of understanding how professional cultures shape judgments of competence and excellence.
Elizabeth Shenk, a BU Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacology Training Program student, received the Research Scholar Award from the Joanna M. Nicolay Melanoma Foundation. The $10,000 grant supports her research on determining which melanomas are likely to metastasize using a three-dimensional engineered platform.
Mary Gehring's lab uses Arabidopsis as a model for human embryonic development to study gene expression in seeds. Her findings could lead to new insights into diseases caused by chromosomal modifications.
The FASEB MARC Program has announced the travel award recipients for the 2013 American College of Sports Medicine Northwest Chapter Meeting, aiming to promote diversity in the basic science community. The program aims to increase the number and competitiveness of underrepresented minorities in biomedical research.
Richard A. Flavell and Ruslan Medzhitov have been awarded the 2013 Vilcek Prize for Biomedical Science for their pioneering work on the fundamental roles of the innate immune system. Their research has led to important insights into immune responses, with implications for various fields of biomedical studies.
Researchers at ASU are collaborating with clinicians at Phoenix Children's Hospital to develop biomarkers for nervous system disorders and a personalized vaccine for malignant brain tumors. They aim to translate pre-clinical results into safe and efficient clinical studies.
The Virginia Tech research center is expanding its testing of football helmets to also include hockey, baseball, softball, and lacrosse. The new five-year plan will rate helmets in these sports based on their ability to lessen concussion risk.
The Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) has selected Environmental Engineering Science as its official journal, promoting innovative solutions to environmental problems. The journal will publish state-of-the-art studies on air, water, and land contamination and waste disposal.
The devices offer significant improvement in tissue imaging while simultaneously enabling photo thermal therapy, administering drugs and monitoring drug delivery. The biodegradable and biocompatible micro-mirrors dissolve harmlessly at predetermined rates, requiring no surgery to remove them.
Biomedical research faces a crisis due to flat government funding and reduced drug industry investment. Experts propose innovative private investment sources such as mutual funds, patent pools, and research bonds to support basic biology and translational research.
Researchers at North Carolina State University developed a new technique that uses sound waves to rapidly separate selected collections of cells. This method is faster and more efficient than existing techniques, with a viability rate of over 90%.
Three projects have won awards from NIBIB and HHMI to enhance interdisciplinary training for graduate students, sharing successful strategies among institutions. The resources developed through the grants will be disseminated to the broader research community, impacting biomedical science advancement.
The University of Missouri's Coulter Translational Partnership Program has awarded funding to five teams of physicians and engineers to improve healthcare. The program aims to turn laboratory discoveries into new products and services for patients, leveraging MU's substantial resources for biomedical innovation.
Fiji, an open-source platform, has become a de facto standard for biomedical-image processing, offering improved precision and accessibility. The platform, created by researchers, allows application sharing and plug-in development, driving collaboration and innovation.
A £30 million initiative will fund groundbreaking projects addressing healthcare problems with current solutions inadequate, enabling adoption into clinical practice and basic research. The partnership aims to tackle rare diseases, mental health issues, and care for infants, leveraging UK and international expertise.
The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) has renewed its Graduate Education Program in Space Life Sciences at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Texas AûM University. The programs focus on space life sciences and provide Ph.D. training to students, with a combined value of $1 million over 5 years.
The FASEB MARC Program has awarded $14,800 to 8 recipients at the 2012 SSR Annual Meeting to promote diversity in biomedical research. The program aims to increase the number of underrepresented minorities engaged in biomedical research.
Dr. Teresa Murray, a Louisiana Tech biomedical engineering professor, has received NIH funding for her research on glial cells and their role in aging and neurodegenerative diseases. Her innovative approach involves creating a tiny glass lens to study glial cell function and interactions with neurons.
The tissue engineering and stem cell industries have experienced significant growth, with over half of companies generating revenue, up from 21% four years ago. Commercial products and services are driving the increase, with $3.5 billion in sales revenues and industry spending approaching $3.6 billion.
The Pew Latin American Fellows Program provides salary support for postdoctoral-level scientists to work in top laboratories in the US. Over 70% of fellows return to their home country to build scientific infrastructure, despite a high number of foreign doctorate recipients staying in the US.
The Pew Scholars Program identifies and invests in talented researchers, enabling them to pursue innovative research and take calculated risks. This year's class of scholars is exploring various human health issues.
Two UC Davis faculty members, Frederic Chedin and Noriko Satake, received Individual Biomedical Research Awards to explore novel approaches to understanding autoimmune diseases. Paula Goines, a postdoctoral researcher, will also receive funding for her work on autism research using nerve cells grown from adult stem cells.
The University of Arizona has received a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop an innovative magnetic resonance imaging method for measuring pH levels in tumors. This technique aims to personalize cancer treatments, such as baking soda therapy, and predict their effectiveness before treatment begins.
The EPSRC has awarded £18 million to three ICT projects at UCL Engineering, focusing on optical communication technologies, wireless technology, and adaptive software engineering. The projects aim to develop new generation of optical fibers, unlock more bandwidth, and improve software development efficiency.
The Virginia Tech – Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences has published the first-ever data on head impacts from youth football players. The new study, called Kinematics of Impact Data Set (KIDS), aims to map the head impact exposure of youth football players across all age groups from 6 to 18 years.
A new study by Rice University illustrates a disconnect between government funding of biomedical research by young investigators and the Nobel Prize standard. The average age of biomedical researchers getting their first grant from the NIH in 2008 was 42, compared to the average age of Nobel winners at 41.
Robert Alfano, CUNY Distinguished Professor of Science and Engineering at CCNY, receives the Britton Chance Biomedical Optics Award for developing non-invasive optical biopsy methods that provide molecular information on cancer cells. His techniques can eliminate wait times and reduce physical trauma of surgery.
The ASME Petroleum Division has donated $1.25 million to the University of Houston to establish an endowed chair in subsea engineering and support a petroleum technology program. The endowment will help recruit world-class leaders, advance research, and increase community outreach efforts.
The Virginia Tech – Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences has received two new research projects from Toyota's Collaborative Safety Research Center. The projects aim to improve the understanding of traumatic brain injuries and abdominal injuries, with a focus on reducing risk in automobile impacts and foo...
Researchers have developed a new imaging technique to track both metallic and semiconducting single-wall carbon nanotubes in live cells and the bloodstream. This 'label-free' approach uses transient absorption to visualize the nanotubes in real-time, overcoming key obstacles in previous methods.
Marissa Rylander, a Virginia Tech associate professor, has received the Y.C. Fung Young Investigator Award for her novel research combining nanotechnology, laser therapy, and dynamic imaging to study tumor progression and develop cancer treatments. Her patented 'holey scaffold' device allows for minimally invasive sensing of biological...
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed a brain probe that softens after insertion, inducing less scarring and enabling the brain to heal faster. The nanocomposite probe, inspired by the skin of the sea cucumber, changes its mechanical properties in response to water, reducing damage to surrounding brain tissue.