Category Health/Medical

Skin has a remarkable ability to heal itself. But in some cases, wounds heal very slowly or not at all, putting a person at risk for chronic pain, infection and scarring. Now, researchers have developed a self-powered bandage that generates an electric field over an injury, dramatically reducing the healing time for skin wounds in rats. They report their results in ACS Nano.

Chronic skin wounds include diabetic foot ulcers, venous ulcers and non-healing surgical wounds...

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have developed a novel eye drop that rapidly reduces sight-threatening scarring to the surface of the eye. The surface of the eye (the cornea) is usually transparent, but scars resulting from eye infection or trauma make it opaque causing blurred vision or in extreme cases complete blindness.

Their pre-clinical research, published today (Friday 21 December 2018) in npj Regenerative Medicine, shows that within a matter of days the eye drop speeds healing, reduces scarring and improves corneal transparency compared to the current standard of care for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an e...

Researchers have genetically modified a common houseplant to remove chloroform and benzene from the air around it. Small molecules like chloroform, which is present in small amounts in chlorinated water, or benzene, which is a component of gasoline, build up in our homes when we shower or boil water, or when we store cars or lawn mowers in attached garages. Both benzene and chloroform exposure have been linked to cancer.

Now researchers at the University of Washington have genetically modified a common houseplant – pothos ivy – to remove chloroform and benzene from the air aroun...

New battery-free, easily implantable weight-loss devices developed by engineers could offer a promising new weapon for battling the bulge. In laboratory testing, the devices helped rats shed almost 40% of their body weight. Results of the study were published today (Dec. 17, 2018) in the journal Nature Communications.

Measuring less than 1cm across, or about a third of the area of a U.S...