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    Category Biology/Biotechnology

    New ‘Smart Needle’ to make Brain Surgery Safer

    January 21, 2017, Categories  Environment/Geology, Technology/Electronics, Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Smart needle which is able to detect blood vessels deep in the body. Credit: University of Adelaide

    Smart needle which is able to detect blood vessels deep in the body. Credit: University of Adelaide

    A new high-tech medical device to make brain surgery safer has been developed by researchers at the University of Adelaide. The tiny imaging probe, encased within a brain biopsy needle, lets surgeons ‘see’ at-risk blood vessels as they insert the needle, allowing them to avoid causing bleeds that can potentially be fatal. The project is a collaboration with the University of Western Australia and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. “We call it a smart needle...

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    Statins could halt vein blood clots, VTE, research suggests

    January 20, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Roger VL, Go AS, Lloyd-Jones DM, et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics—2012 update: A report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2012;125(1):e2-e220. Heit J, O’Fallon W, Petterson T, Lohse C, Silverstein M, Mohr D, Melton L. Relative impact of risk factors for deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism: a population-based study. Arch Intern Med. 2002; 162: 1245–1248. Forster AJ, et al: Adverse drug events occurring following hospital discharge. Journal of General Internal Medicine, April 2005;20(4):317-23 Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, Report to the Congress: Reforming the Delivery System, Washington, D.C.: MedPAC, June 2008 Bratzler, Dale W. "Development of National Performance Measures on the Prevention and Treatment of Venous Thromboembolism." Journal of Thrombosis And Thrombolysis 29, no. 2 (2010): 148-54. Heit JA. The epidemiology of venous thromboembolism in the community. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2008;28(3):370-372.

    Venous Thromboembolism awareness~ Roger VL, Go AS, Lloyd-Jones DM, et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics—2012 update: A report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2012;125(1):e2-e220. Heit J, O’Fallon W, Petterson T, Lohse C, Silverstein M, Mohr D, Melton L. Relative impact of risk factors for deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism: a population-based study. Arch Intern Med. 2002; 162: 1245–1248. Forster AJ, et al: Adverse drug events occurring following hospital discharge. Journal of General Internal Medicine, April 2005;20(4):317-23 Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, Report to the Congress: Reforming the Delivery System, Washington, D.C.: MedPAC, June 2008 Bratzler, Dale W...

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    New, Old Science Combine to Make Faster Medical Test

    January 20, 2017, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics, Health/Medical, Chemistry/Nanotechnology, Biology/Biotechnology

    This is Assistant Professor Shawn Putnam of the University of Central Florida's College of Engineering & Computer Science. Credit: Courtesy University of Central Florida

    This is Assistant Professor Shawn Putnam of the University of Central Florida’s College of Engineering & Computer Science. Credit: Courtesy University of Central Florida

    Nanoparticles and Faraday rotation allow faster diagnoses. A UCF researcher has combined cutting-edge nanoscience with a magnetic phenomenon discovered more than 170 years ago to create a method for speedy medical tests. The discovery, if commercialized, could lead to faster test results for HIV, Lyme disease, syphilis, rotavirus and other infectious conditions. “I see no reason why a variation of this technique couldn’t be in every hospital throughout the world,” said Shawn Putnam, an assistant professor in the University of Central Florida’s College of Engineering & Computer Science.

    At the core of the research are nanop...

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    Too much Sitting, too little Exercise may Accelerate Biological Aging

    January 20, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Sitting and low physical activity may accelerate aging in older women. Photo courtesty of Pixabay

    Sitting and low physical activity may accelerate aging in older women. Photo courtesty of Pixabay

    UCSD School of Medicine reports that elderly women who sit for >10 hours a day with <40 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily have cells that are biologically older by 8 years vs women who are less sedentary. Specifically they have shorter telomeres that protect chromosomes from deterioration and progressively shorten with age. Obesity and smoking, may also accelerate that process. Shortened telomeres are associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes and major cancers.

    “Our study found cells age faster with a sedentary lifestyle...

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