Collaborations between Johns Hopkins and National Taiwan University researchers have successfully manipulated the life span of common, single-celled yeast organisms by figuring out how to remove and restore protein functions related to yeast aging.
Modern medical technology is evidently held in high esteem by the general population. In a recent survey conducted by the market research institute Emnid commissioned by the industry association SPECTARIS, about 80% of the patients surveyed said that under certain circumstances they would be willing to pay more for their health insurance in return for consistent treatment with state-of-the-art…
There is no link between long-term use of mobile phones and tumours of the brain or central nervous system, finds new research published on bmj.com today. In what is described as the largest study on the subject to date, Danish researchers found no evidence that the risk of brain tumours was raised among 358,403 mobile phone subscribers over an 18-year period.
Films with vivid 3-D images draw millions to cinemas – regardless of the plot. This technology, which is based on a stereoscopic effect, is not only entertaining but also medically relevant, as demonstrated by the Amulet three-dimensional digital mammography system produced by Fujifilm.
From guidelines to daily clinical practice: Cardiac resynchronisation therapy is increasingly important in heart failure treatment. The therapy is complex, the demands to medical technology high. Holger Zorn reports
New research carried out in the UK has revealed that young children with congenital heart disease are at risk of having harmful toxins in their blood, particularly following surgery. Mark Nicholls reports
Xenon anaesthesia not only preserves the heart and circulation but also prevents post-operative delirium. The high cost of the gas is made up for by a shorter length of sta. Report: Holger Zorn
More than 30 clinicians, researchers and industry partners (including Siemens, Aesculap and SurgiTAIX, an RWTH spin-off) are working on OrthoMIT, Germany’s largest collaborative orthopaedic research project that aims to develop future strategies for knees, hip and spinal surgery. Anja Behringer reports
A new publication exposes the effects on past members of the German Society of Surgery. Bettina Döbereiner reports
Cultural differences in pain perception and their consequences for pain therapy were discussed today at the 7th EFIC Congress: Pain in Europe VII. More than 4,000 experts from all over the world are currently gathered in Hamburg (D) to discuss the latest developments in pain research and therapy.
An original computer application that enables access to electronic patient records (EPRs) instantly via doctors’ smartphones has been designed by the IT team at the Holy Name Medical Centre in Teaneck, New Jersey, USA. The app also offers direct phone links to a patient’s nurse and emergency contact person via iPhone, Android, Blackberry and other mobile devices. Report: Mark Nicholls
High levels of chocolate consumption might be associated with a one third reduction in the risk of developing heart disease, finds a study published on bmj.com. The findings confirm results of existing studies that generally agree on a potential beneficial link between chocolate consumption and heart health. However, the authors stress that further studies are needed to test whether chocolate…
Royal Philips Electronics provided clinicians from across the globe with a glimpse of future innovations designed to advance cardiac care, including the current management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and associated cardiac conditions, during the 2011 Congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
Professor Ulf Ahlgren and associates at Umeå University in Sweden are a leading research team in the world in the development of optical projection tomography. With the aid of this imaging technology, they have now described aspects of how the pancreas develops during embryonic development and how the so-called islets of Langerhans are distributed in the adult organ. The findings are important…
A new urine test can help aid early detection of and treatment decisions about prostate cancer, a study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology finds.
Scientists have confirmed the feasibility of using a new drug delivery system - the basis for a battery-powered skin patch - to administer medication that shows promise for treating peripheral artery disease (PAD) and healing stubborn skin ulcers and burns. The needle-free delivery of the medication, which cannot be given by mouth and can have side effects when injected, is reported in the ACS…
An international team of molecular scientists have discovered that star ascidians, also known as sea squirts, have pacemaker cells similar to that of the human heart. The research, published in the JEZ A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology, may offer a new insight into the early evolution of the heart as star ascidians are one of the closest related invertebrates to mammals
Until 15 January 2012, young researchers working in Europe who are not older than 35 years are invited to apply for the Eppendorf Award for Young European Investigators. This highly prestigious prize was first established in 1995. It acknowledges outstanding contributions to biomedical research in Europe based on methods of molecular biology, including novel analytical concepts.
Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science, today announced that the 2011 Oxoid W H Pierce Memorial Prize, which commemorates the late W H (Bill) Pierce, has been awarded to Dr. Brian Jones, senior lecturer at the University of Brighton, England. The award acknowledges Dr. Jones’ research into the human gut mobile metagenome, the mobile genetic elements (such as plasmids)…
Postmortem examination by means of computed tomography and other imaging techniques is still a novelty in many countries. But at the forensic institute of the University of Zurich, Switzerland, scanning the bodies is daily routine. By Irène Dietschi
One of the world’s leading public health establishments, AP-HP (Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris) generated EUR 17 million in revenues thanks to its technology transfer arm, OTTLIV, in 2010. OTTLIV (Office of Technology Transfer, Licensing and Industrial Ventures), a small team of professionals, raised income from license fees, royalties and collaborative research projects.
Researchers from London's Kingston University have developed a new highly-accurate blood test which can detect how much a patient's diet could be responsible for a lack of the so-called "sunshine vitamin". Vitamin D deficiencies can weaken the immune system and increase the risk of cancer and osteoporosis.
In Europe, nosocomial infections cause about 25,000 deaths every year. Copper has strong antibiotic effects and may reduce hospital acquired infections.
‘Heal the world’ sang the Berliner Rundfunk Children’s Choir and Youth Orchestra, and thus aptly began the joint 21st International Congress of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine and the 19th IFCC-EFCC European Congress of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, attracting 4,418 delegates, 2,833 visitors and 1,058 exhibiting staff to Berlin in May.
Although the 17 lectures delivered at this year‘s Medical Technology Congress in Berlin, Germany, focused on topics ranging from experimental and clinical research to routine daily diagnostic methods, the pervading interest was in the improvement, development and distribution of non-invasive imaging devices and corresponding software.
