Regenerative body parts in the works

A Canadian researcher is hoping that within ten years, people will be able to regrow tendons, spinal cords or heart valves lost to injury or disease. Dr. Brian Amsden, a chemical engineering professor from Queen’s University, is developing a technique wherein cells from a patient’s body would be placed on a polymer prosthetic that stimulates cell growth. After the cells had established themselves sufficiently, the prosthetic would be implanted in the patient’s body. The polymer would then biodegrade, leaving behind nothing but the patient’s own tissue

Plastic antibodies effective in living animals

It seems just about anything can be made using plastic nowadays. The latest items to get a plastic fantastic makeover are antibodies – proteins produced by the body’s immune system to recognize and fight infections from foreign substances. Scientists are reporting the first evidence that a plastic antibody works in the bloodstream of a living animal, opening up the possibility of plastic antibodies being custom tailored to fight everything from viruses and bacteria to the proteins that cause allergic reactions.

Testing for blood type just got significantly cheaper

A study by Australian scientists has resulted in the development of a test for blood type that can be performed using antibody impregnated paper manufacturable for a few cents per test, which is significantly cheaper than existing tests of a similar nature. This could make all the difference in the developing world, considering it's essential to test for blood type before performing a blood transfusion on a patient whose blood type is unknown. The test essentially allows blood type to be determined based on the distance the blood travels along the channels in the paper from the point where it is dropped

Carbon nanotube 'tattoo' to measure blood glucose levels in diabetics

Diabetes is an enormous global problem... and it is on the rise. Despite decades of research and advances in technology, the methods of accurately measuring glucose in the body are still quite primitive. A new type of blood glucose monitor being developed at MIT could not only eliminate the need for finger pricks, but could also offer more accurate readings by way of a “tattoo” of nanoparticles injected below the skin.

What do you get when you cross a sex toy with a bicycle seat?

What will they think of next? I came across the Ample Star Massaging Bicycle Seat by accident in the penny booth section of Asia's largest computer fair,computex It's akin to those massagers sold in department stores that are not there to soothe aching muscles so much as facilitate orgasm for females who don't want to have a sex store come up on the credit card statement. The major difference is that this one also serves as a giant flashing taillight, broadcasting your favorite dance rhythms to fellow road users.

Brain vacuum technique reverses the effects of stroke

Twenty-seven stroke victims are alive and well today because of a new tool that vacuums clots out of blood vessels in the brain. Known as the Penumbra System of Continuous Aspiration Thrombectomy, the technology has been assessed at the Seaman MR Research Centre at Canada’s University of Calgary. If used within a few hours of a stroke, it can restore blood flow to the brain, thus reversing the effects of the stroke and preventing any permanent brain damage

Dental implants could be grown inside patients' mouths

Conventional dental implants are typically screwed into the patient’s jaw bone, require visits to several types of clinicians, take two to six months to heal and are still subject to failure. Not exactly an ideal solution to missing teeth. A professor of dental medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, however, has devised a technique wherein implants could be grown in the empty tooth socket, right inside the patient’s mouth