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Research completed through a collaboration with University of Missouri engineers, biologists, and chemists could transform how scientists study molecules and cells at sub-microscopic (nanoscale) levels. Shubra Gangopadhyay, an electrical and computer engineer and her team at MU recently published studies outlining a new, relatively inexpensive imaging platform that enables single molecule imaging. This patented method highlights Gangopadhyay’s more than 30 years of nanoscale research that has proven invaluable in biological research and battling diseases. “Usually, scientists have to use very expensive microscopes to image at the sub-microscopic level,” said Gangopadhyay,…

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By loading magnetic nanoparticles with drugs and dressing them in biochemical camouflage, Houston Methodist researchers say they can destroy blood clots 100 to 1,000 times faster than a commonly used clot-busting technique. The finding, reported in Advanced Functional Materials (early online), is based on experiments in human blood and mouse clotting models. If the drug delivery system performs similarly well in planned human clinical trials, it could mean a major step forward in the prevention of strokes, heart attacks, pulmonary embolisms, and other dire circumstances where clots — if not quickly busted…

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Microneedle technology has been around for years, and we’ve seen vaccines andmedication administered via the technique, which uses tiny needles to break only the upper layer of the patient’s skin. Now, the pain-free tech is being used for something a little different, with researchers creating a device capable of monitoring patient drug levels – something that usually requires the drawing of blood. The development of the new system was a joint effort between the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland. It consists of a small patch…

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The three-dimensional nature of biological specimens poses a challenge to whole organ imaging, due to the obscuring effects of light scatter. Innovative tissue-clearing techniques, combined with advances in imaging of cleared tissue, have increasingly been under investigation as substitutes for histological methods. Researchers from Ludwig Maximilian University have established a novel tissue-clearing and whole-body imaging technique, named “ultimate DISCO” (uDISCO).   Tissue clearing and shrinkage (up to 65%) were achieved by exposure to a solvent, which eliminated water and fat content over the course of several days. Using this technique,…

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