Category Health/Medical

Spacer Parameters (a) Schematic of spaser as multimodal cellular nanoprobe. (b) Comparison of emission in suspensions of uranine spaser at 528 m (green peak; pump energy fluence 70 mJ cm−2), fluorescein spaser (magenta peak), QD with maximum at 576 nm (inset, red peak) and GNRs (right) with silica shell doped with DCM. TEM images shows 22-nm spaser (left inset) and GNRs (right inset).

A nanolaser known as the spaser can serve as a super-bright, water-soluble, biocompatible probe capable of finding metastasized cancer cells in the blood stream and then killing these cells, according to a new research study...

A research team led by Professor Kyung-In Jang of Robotics Engineering collects, analyzes, and diagnoses bio-signals wirelessly transmitted to mobile application from the soft electronic skin. Credit: DGIST

A soft, stick-on patch collects, analyzes and wirelessly transmits a variety of health metrics from the body to a smartphone. A new, electronic skin microsystem tracks heart rate, respiration, muscle movement and other health data, and wirelessly transmits it to a smartphone. The electronic skin offers several improvements over existing trackers, including greater flexibility, smaller size, and the ability to stick the self-adhesive patch – which is a very soft silicone about 4cm (1.5 inches) in diameter – just about anywhere on the body..

The electronic skin contains about 50 component...

rheumatoid arthritis in hands

But no such association found for breastfeeding after influential factors accounted for. Taking the contraceptive pill, particularly for 7 or more consecutive years, is linked to a lowered risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, finds research published online in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. But no significant link was found for breastfeeding – a practice that has been associated with a protective effect – after accounting for various potentially influential factors, the findings show.

Because rheumatoid arthritis is 2 to 3 times as common in women as it is in men, it is thought hormonal and reproductive factors may partly explain this gender difference. But the research to date has produced equivocal results...

Marathon runners. Credit: © pavel1964 / Fotolia

Scientists have now tapped into the microbiome of exceptional runners and rowers, and have identified particular bacteria that may aid athletic performance. The goal is to develop probiotic supplements that may help athletes – and even amateur fitness enthusiasts – recover from a tough workout or more efficiently convert nutrients to energy. “When we first started thinking about this, I was asked whether we could use genomics to predict the next Michael Jordan,” Jonathan Scheiman, Ph.D., says. “But my response was that a better question is: Can you extract Jordan’s biology and give it to others to help make the next Michael Jordan?”

To answer that question, microbes seemed like a good place to start...