Medical And Bio-Inspired Innovations by T Goodman

A recent experiment by the department of organ technologies at the Tokyo University of Science was successful at bioengineering hair follicle growth in bald mice.  Though these images may look small in the scheme of bioengineering organs, the development is very important, both for those who would like to replace their 'rugs' with something more credible, and for the future of other bioengineered organ replacements.

It was a great Friday for those folks waiting for the radioactive dye Amyvid to be approved. The dye, which allows doctors to see the toxic protein amyloid plague in the brain via a PET scan, has been waiting for approval since it was turned down by the FDA one year ago.  On Friday, April 6, 2012 the FDA approved the use of Eli Lilly's Amyvid, and Lilly announced that the dye will be available for use this summer, in small supply.

Results for the very first human embryonic stem cell treatment were announced today in the online first section of The Lancet journal.  The first aim of the study was to determine if the stem cell transplant was a safe treatment for age-related dry macular degeneration (dry AMD), the main cause of blindness in persons over 60.  But, in addition...

A tree that is native to China, the Hovenia dulcis, or Asian raisin tree, has been described to contain a hangover remedy since 659 AD.  If you can fathom how long it's been in use, you may wonder why it's taken so long for modern research to study its potential as a treatment for alcohol addiction.  Well, now a multi-disciplinary team from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) are actively studying its impact; first on rats....

Deep brain stimulation, or DBS, is in its early experimental stages; this study, for example, had only 17 subjects. But when you cut into a person's skull and implant electrodes on either side of the brain while people are awake, it's probably not that easy to attract willing subjects. Nevertheless...