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Mini Robots For Surgery

5/27/2015

Aaron T. Becker, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Houston, explains that the utilization of mini-robots can be used to treat hydrocephalus and other conditions in the future. This future-field type of surgery would allow surgeons to avoid current treatments that require cutting through the skull to implant pressure-relieving shunts. Becker was first author of the paper, "Toward Tissue Penetration by MRI-powered Millirobots Using a Self-Assembled Gauss Gun," working with collaborators Ouajdi Felfoul, Harvard Medical School postdoctoral fellow at Boston Children's Hospital, and Pierre E. Dupont, visiting professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School. "Hydrocephalus, among other conditions, is a candidate for correction by our millirobots because the ventricles are fluid-filled and connect to the spinal canal," Becker said. "Our noninvasive approach would eventually require simply a hypodermic needle or lumbar puncture to introduce the components into the spinal canal, and the components could be steered out of the body afterwards."

Preventing Secondary Cancers

5/27/2015

Leading scientists from the University of Sheffield and University of Copenhagen have identified a possible key to preventing secondary cancers in breast cancer patients, after discovering an enzyme which enhances the spread of the disease. Dr Gartland said: "This is important progress in the fight against breast cancer metastasis and these findings could lead to new treatments to stop secondary breast tumors growing in the bone, increasing the chances of survival for thousands of patients.We are really excited about our results that show breast cancer tumors send out signals to destroy the bone before cancer cells get there in order to prepare the bone for the cancer cells' arrival. The next step is to find out exactly how the tumor secreted LOX interacts with bone cells to be able to develop new drugs to stop the formation of the bone lesions and cancer metastasis. This could also have implications for how we treat other bone diseases too."

Cancer Drugs To Treat Neuro Disorders?

5/20/2015

Down Syndrome and Fragile X are the two most prominent neurological disorders which negatively impact intellectual capacity. "This study proposes a potential therapeutic approach for treating brain disorders associated with dysregulated expression of the Dscam protein, which is seen in both Down syndrome and Fragile X syndrome," said senior study author Bing Ye X syndrome," said senior study author Bing Ye. "This study proposes a potential therapeutic approach for treating brain disorders associated with dysregulated expression of the Dscam protein, which is seen in both Down syndrome and Fragile X syndrome," said senior study author Bing Ye

Mini Robots For Surgery

Preventing Secondary Cancers

Cancer Drugs To Treat Neuro Disorders?

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