News • Oncology

Scientists root out the ‘bad seeds’ of liver cancer

Researchers have found the “bad seeds” of liver cancer and believe they could one day reprogram them to remain responsive to cancer treatment, a new study has found.

News • Diabetes

No more Insulin injections?

In patients suffering from Type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks the pancreas, eventually leaving patients without the ability to naturally control blood sugar. These patients must carefully monitor the amount of sugar in their blood, measuring it several times a day and then injecting themselves with insulin to keep their blood sugar levels within a healthy range. However, precise control…

News • Antibodies

A ‘silver bullet’ for Ebola viruses?

There may be a “silver bullet” for Ebola. Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston (UTMB) reported that they have isolated human monoclonal antibodies from Ebola survivors which can neutralize multiple species of the virus.

News • Bacteria

3D images of megaenzymes may improve antibiotics

Taking clear pictures of megaenzymes isn’t easy. But it’s definitely worth it. These proteins play an active role in creating many common antibiotics. They are in constant motion, with sections that flip around acrobatically to carry out necessary tasks. Now, for the first time, McGill researchers have been able to take a series of 3D images of a large section from one of these…

News • Electronic nose

Device that can 'smell' prostate cancer

A research team from the University of Liverpool has reached an important milestone towards creating a urine diagnostic test for prostate cancer that could mean that invasive diagnostic procedures that men currently undergo eventually become a thing of the past.

News • The Amazing Race

Cancer cells travel together to forge ‘successful’ metastases

There’s apparently safety in numbers, even for cancer cells. New research in mice suggests that cancer cells rarely form metastatic tumors on their own, preferring to travel in groups since collaboration seems to increase their collective chances of survival, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins.

News • Pen-sized microscope

Identifying cancer cells in operating rooms

Surgeons removing a malignant brain tumor don't want to leave cancerous material behind. But they're also trying to protect healthy brain matter and minimize neurological harm.

Suitable protein tags for nanoscopy

Scientists of the Göttingen Cluster of Excellence CNMPB and the EMBL describe efficient fluorescence tag for super-resolution microscopy.

Sponsored • In Emergency

Automated H-FABP assay improves the efficiency of Troponin

Automated latex enhanced immunoturbidimetric H-FABP assay helps emergency departments to detect MI within 30 minutes of chest pain onset, and improve the diagnostic efficiency of Troponin.

News • Biophysic

What happens when red blood cells "wriggle"

For the first time, and using physical methods, scientists have demonstrated how red blood cells move. They recognized that fast molecules in the vicinity make the cell membrane in the blood cells wriggle – but that the cells themselves also become active when they have enough reaction time.

News • Respiratory infection

Under the weather? A blood test can tell if antibiotics are needed

Researchers at Duke Health are fine-tuning a test that can determine whether a respiratory illness is caused by infection from a virus or bacteria so that antibiotics can be more precisely prescribed.

Cancer cells poised for growth when opportunity knocks

Researchers have identified a mechanism that allows cancer cells to respond and grow rapidly when levels of sugar in the blood rise. This may help to explain why people who develop conditions in which they have chronically high sugar levels in their blood, such as obesity, also have an increased risk of developing certain types of cancer.

News • DNA

Blood test may expand scope of liquid biopsies

When cells die, they don't vanish without a trace. Instead, they leave behind their fingerprints in the form of cell-free DNA. In people, these tiny fragments of DNA can be found in the bloodstream.

News • EKF Diagnostics guide

Anemia and Hemoglobin testing

EKF Diagnostics, the global in vitro diagnostics company, announces the publication of its new guide, "Anemia and hemoglobin testing". Available to download for free, the in-depth hematology guide provides a review of the symptoms and causes of anemia, through to methods for testing hemoglobin and hematocrit, as well as factors that may influence these measurements.

News • Immunotherapy

The new frontier of cancer therapy

Healthcare, the world’s largest industry, is more than three times the size and value of the financial services sector, and is transforming faster than ever before, driving humanity to rethink the way we approach our health.

Article • Management

UK hospitals conduct few post mortems

Post mortems are now rarely carried out within UK hospitals – according to a study that examined all acute NHS Trusts within England, NHS Boards in Scotland and Wales and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland, and found that the process has disappeared completely in around a quarter (23%) of NHS trusts. In 2013, the average autopsy rate (percentage of adult in-patient deaths that undergo…

Article • High costs

POCT could lose economic attraction

In addition to physical examinations, medical history laboratory test results are critical in almost all medical decisions made in the hospital. The demand for adequate, fast measurements has increased exponentially over at least the last 50 years and may have increased 100-fold, or more, since the 1950s. This could not have been achieved without the introduction of partial or full automation, of…

News • Philips and Banyan Biomarkers

Partnership for handheld blood test to detect and evaluate concussions

Royal Philips and Banyan Biomarkers, Inc. today announced that they have entered into a multi-year joint development agreement to develop and commercialize a new handheld blood test to detect and evaluate mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) - also known as concussion - at the point of care. The new handheld test will be based on Philips’ Minicare I-20 system. The financial details of the…

'Self-Sabotage' prevents immune protection against Malaria

Australian scientists have for the first time revealed how malaria parasites cause an inflammatory reaction that sabotages our body's ability to protect itself against the disease. The discovery opens up the possibility of improving new or existing malaria vaccines by boosting key immune cells needed for long-lasting immunity. This could even include vaccines that have previously been ineffective…

News • Neurodegenerative diseases

The case of the sticky protein

Proteins are like a body’s in-house Lego set. These large, complex molecules are made up of building blocks called amino acids. Most of the time, proteins fold correctly, but sometimes they can misfold. This misfolding causes the proteins to get sticky, and that can promote clumping, or aggregation, which is the hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS, Alzheimer’s and…

Quickly identifying tumors by using antibodies

Antibodies combat viruses and bacteria. They also attach themselves to cancer cells – in a typical, characteristic way. Fraunhofer scientists are using this property to detect cancer cells in tissue samples. Such rapid tests can already be applied by surgeons during operations – within a few minutes and without expensive equipment.

News • Surfing DNA

Enzyme catches a ride to fight infection

Scientists have shown for the first time that an enzyme crucial to keeping our immune system healthy “surfs” along the strands of DNA inside our cells. The researchers used extremely powerful microscopy to watch how the enzyme AID (activation-induced deoxycytidine deaminase) moves around and interacts with other molecules.

Sponsored • Congratulation

MIR SmartOne Wins ERS 2015 POINT Award

The Smart One achieved the Product of Outstanding Interest (POINT) award for diagnostic devices at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International congress in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

The molecular breakdance of seeing

The detection of light by pigments in the retina, called rhodopsin or visual purple, leads to our sense of vision. New experiments by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter and the University of Toronto have revealed that the primary photochemical event of this process operates at the fundamental molecular speed limit.

Article • Service

Telepathology - apps and phones

Collaborating with colleagues locally and globally using telepathology can be successful for facilities both financially and clinically, says Dr. Liron Pantanowitz, director of pathology informatics at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). Pantanowitz, who also serves as a consultant to Onyx, a company that provides digital pathology technology and is joint venture between GE Healthcare…