New nanotechnology can be used for Type 1 diabetes, food allergies and asthma

• New nanoparticle tricks and resets immune system in mice with MS
• First MS approach that doesn't suppress immune system
• Clinical trial for MS patients shows why nanoparticle is best option
• Nanoparticle now being tested in Type 1 diabetes and asthma

The ability of fluorescence microscopy to study labeled structures like cells has now been empowered to deliver greater spatial and temporal resolutions that were not possible before, thanks to a new method developed by Beckman Institute faculty member Gabriel Popescu and Ru Wang from his research group. Using this method, the researchers were able to study the critical process of cell transport dynamics at multiple spatial and temporal scales and reveal, for the first time, properties of diffusive and directed motion transport in living cells.

Findings could help millions of people who are unable to control seizures

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (08/24/2012) —A team of University of Minnesota biomedical engineers and researchers from Mayo Clinic published a groundbreaking study today that outlines how a new type of non-invasive brain scan taken immediately after a seizure gives additional insight into possible causes and treatments for epilepsy patients. The new findings could specifically benefit millions of people who are unable to control their epilepsy with medication.

A new technique will allow plant breeders to introduce valuable crop traits even without access to the full genome sequence of that crop.

The technique, published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, links important agronomic traits in crop plants with active regions of the genome. Instead of requiring knowledge of the crop's complete genome, it identifies only expressed genes.

Safer, cheaper detection using microwaves spots tumors sooner

A simple and cost effective imaging device for breast tumor detection based on a flexible and wearable antenna system has been developed by researchers at the Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis. The team based in the Integrated Nanosystems Development Institute (INDI) describes details in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Computer Aided Engineering and Technology and point out that their system holds the promise of much earlier detection than mammography.

Computer-designed proteins are under construction to fight the flu.  Researchers are demonstrating that proteins found in nature, but that do not normally bind the flu, can be engineered to act as broad-spectrum antiviral agents against a variety of flu virus strains, including H1N1 pandemic influenza.

Paul Vasiliadis, a graduate student in biomedical engineering at WPI, with the microthread extrusion system he helped design and build.

Development of new therapies for a range of medical conditions—from common sports injuries to heart attacks—will be supported by a new production-scale microthread extruder designed and built by a team of graduate students and biomedical engineering faculty at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).

Researchers from Clemson University have found a way to create temporary holes in the membranes of live cells using a standard inkjet printer. The method will be published in JoVE, the Journal of Visualized Experiments, on March 16.

Their results are published in the current edition of the German journal Angewandte Chemie.

The advance offers a nontoxic way to study how the organ works, and how disease impairs it. 

Interactions between neurons involve both chemical and electrical signaling. For decades, neuroscientists have searched for a noninvasive way to measure the electrical component. Achieving this could make it easier to study how the brain works, and how neurological disease impairs its functioning.