Category Health/Medical

Gold does not readily lend itself to being turned into long, thin threads. But researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have now managed to create gold nanowires and develop soft electrodes that can be connected to the nervous system. The electrodes are soft as nerves, stretchable and electrically conductive, and are projected to last for a long time in the body.

Some people have a “heart of gold,” so why not “nerves of gold”? In the future, it may be possible to use this precious metal in soft interfaces to connect electronics to the ...

Northwestern University scientists have developed a new bioactive material that successfully regenerated high-quality cartilage in the knee joints of a large-animal model.

Although it looks like a rubbery goo, the material is actually a complex network of molecular components, which work together to mimic cartilage’s natural environment in the body.

In the new study, the researchers applied the material to damaged cartilage in the animals’ knee joints...

A novel, water-resistant patch-wearable cardioverter-defibrillator (P-WCD) is safe and effective for patients at risk for sudden cardiac arrest, according to a study published in the Aug. 6 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

John Hummel, M.D., from The Ohio State University in Columbus, and colleagues assessed the safety and clinical effectiveness of a novel P-WCD. The analysis included 290 patients at risk for sudden cardiac arrest due to ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation who were not candidates for or refused an implantable defibrillator.

The researchers found that the clinically significant cutaneous adverse device effect rate was 2.30 percent, with no severe adverse effects...

Higher levels of urinary metals such as cadmium, tungsten, uranium, cobalt, copper and zinc are linked to increased cardiovascular disease and mortality in a racially and ethnically diverse U.S. population, according to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. While it is well documented that exposure to certain metals has been associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality, until now the evidence was limited beyond arsenic, cadmium, and lead and for a racially diverse population. The findings are published in the journal Circulation.

When analyzed together, the 6 metal-mixture including cadmium, tungsten, uranium, copper, cobalt, and zinc was associated with a 29 percent increased risk of cardiovascular disease and a 66% increased risk of dea...