http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (Phys.org)—In collaboration with colleagues at Oxford, a team of researchers at Umeå University in Sweden has now further elaborated its discovery of a way to detect Parkinson's disease at an early stage, and applications in clinical care are not far away. http://phys.org/news267894445.html Chemistry Wed, 26 Sep 2012 16:07:38 EST news267894445 (Phys.org) -- Using a sensor made of densely packed carbon nanotubes coated with gold nanoparticles, a researcher team headed by James Rusling of the University of Connecticut has developed a low-cost microfluidic device for detecting oral cancer. According to the researchers, the device is readily adaptable to detecting other cancers. http://phys.org/news260691132.html Nanotechnology Thu, 05 Jul 2012 07:13:21 EST news260691132 (PhysOrg.com) -- Paper-thin sensors that use the latest technology in miniaturization and printing could revolutionize the way point of care testing is carried out for cholesterol and lead to further applications and developments of the technology. http://phys.org/news249725842.html Chemistry Wed, 29 Feb 2012 08:17:42 EST news249725842 Separating complex mixtures of cells, such as those found in a blood sample, can offer valuable information for diagnosing and treating disease. However, it may be necessary to search through billions of other cells to collect rare cells such as tumor cells, stem cells or fetal cells. “You’re basically looking for a needle in a haystack,” says Sukant Mittal, a graduate student in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST). http://phys.org/news249115569.html Chemistry Wed, 22 Feb 2012 06:46:20 EST news249115569 In a feat of technology tweaking that would rival MacGyver, a team of researchers from the University of California, Davis has transformed everyday iPhones into medical-quality imaging and chemical detection devices. With materials that cost about as much as a typical app, the decked-out smartphones are able to use their heightened senses to perform detailed microscopy and spectroscopy. The team will present their findings at the Optical Society's (OSA) Annual Meeting, Frontiers in Optics (FiO) 2011, taking place in San Jose, Calif. Oct. 16-20. http://phys.org/news236857030.html Physics Mon, 03 Oct 2011 10:37:46 EST news236857030 Blood tests are important diagnostic tools. They accurately tease-out vanishingly small concentrations of proteins and other molecules that help give a picture of overall health or signal the presence of specific diseases. Current testing procedures, however, are expensive and time-consuming, while sophisticated test equipment is bulky and difficult to transport. http://phys.org/news234092738.html Physics Thu, 01 Sep 2011 10:45:52 EST news234092738 The days of the blood sample routine - arm out, tie tube, make a fist, find a vein and tap in -- may soon be over, thanks to a new analysis method developed at U of T by Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) core professor Aaron Wheelerin which only a pinprick of blood is necessary. http://phys.org/news233991680.html Chemistry Wed, 31 Aug 2011 06:41:35 EST news233991680 Heart transplant recipients and their physicians are likely more concerned with the function of the donated organ than with the donor's DNA sequences that tag along in the new, healthy tissue. However, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have shown that an increase in the amount of the donor's DNA in the recipient's blood is one of the earliest detectable signs of organ rejection. http://phys.org/news220547467.html Medicine & Health Mon, 28 Mar 2011 16:11:22 EST news220547467 Researchers at Johns Hopkins have found a better way to create induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells -- adult cells reprogrammed with the properties of embryonic stem cells -- from a small blood sample. This new method, described last week in Cell Research, avoids creating DNA changes that could lead to tumor formation. http://phys.org/news215768325.html Biology Tue, 01 Feb 2011 07:38:57 EST news215768325 While most blood tests require shipping a vial of blood to a laboratory for analysis and waiting several days for the results, a new device invented by a team of engineers and students at the University of Rhode Island uses just a pinprick of blood in a portable device that provides results in less than 30 minutes. http://phys.org/news213858974.html Chemistry Mon, 10 Jan 2011 05:16:36 EST news213858974 A set of proteins found in blood serum shows promise as a sensitive and accurate way to diagnose Alzheimer's disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found as part of a statewide study. http://phys.org/news205519260.html Medicine & Health Tue, 05 Oct 2010 17:41:33 EST news205519260 Scientists at the UK's National Physical Laboratory have developed a new strategy for quicker and more precise detection of biomarkers - proteins which indicate disease. The work could pave the way for new tools to detect early stages of Alzheimer's and cancer at the molecular level. http://phys.org/news203164383.html Chemistry Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:33:21 EST news203164383 Scientists from NPL's Biotechnology group have developed a new strategy to enable quicker and more precise detection of biomarkers - proteins which indicate disease. The work marks a new research direction for the group, and they hope the technique is an early step towards tools to detect Alzheimer’s and cancer at the molecular level. http://phys.org/news202658781.html Chemistry Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:40:01 EST news202658781 Cells from frozen human blood samples can be reprogrammed to an embryonic-stem-cell-like state, according to Whitehead Institute researchers. These cells can be multiplied and used to study the genetic and molecular mechanisms of blood disorders and other diseases. http://phys.org/news197206807.html Biology Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:40:26 EST news197206807 Researchers have developed a way of accurately predicting when women will hit the menopause using a simple blood test. The average difference between the predicted age and the actual age that the women in their study reached the menopause was only a third of a year, and the maximum margin of error was between three and four years. http://phys.org/news196856735.html Medicine & Health Sun, 27 Jun 2010 18:20:01 EST news196856735 Researchers at the nanotechnology research center Imec (Belgium) have demonstrated biosensors based on novel nanostructure geometries that increase the sensitivity and allow to detect extremely low concentrations of specific disease markers. This paves the way to early diagnostics of for example cancer by detecting low densities of cancer markers in human blood samples. http://phys.org/news196522074.html Nanotechnology Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:50:01 EST news196522074 The symptoms of appendicitis are often diffuse and it can be difficult to obtain an accurate diagnosis early in the course of the disease. It may be possible to predict the severity from a blood sample, and in this way determine the treatment on an individual basis. This is the conclusion of a thesis presented at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. http://phys.org/news196342388.html Medicine & Health Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:33:39 EST news196342388 It is well-known that vitamin D is essential for strong and healthy bones. However, in an article in the online "In Press" section of "Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism," a San Francisco VA Medical Center physician reviews recent scientific literature suggesting that the vitamin may also play a role in preventing cancer, fighting infection, and controlling or preventing auto-immune disease. http://phys.org/news195803392.html Medicine & Health Tue, 15 Jun 2010 07:00:01 EST news195803392 (AP) -- Mound after tiny mound of red clay earth dots the cemetery on the outskirts of this impoverished Nigerian village where grieving parents come to pray. http://phys.org/news195406848.html Medicine & Health Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:41:19 EST news195406848 The University of Nottingham spin-out company, Oncimmune Ltd, has developed a ground breaking blood test which will aid the detection of cancer as much as five years earlier than current testing methods such as mammography and CT scans. Physicians will know the result of their patient's test within one week of sending in a blood sample to Oncimmune. http://phys.org/news194607110.html Medicine & Health Tue, 01 Jun 2010 11:10:01 EST news194607110 A study published today in the journal Science offers a long-awaited explanation for the link between HIV infection and susceptibility to life-threatening nontyphoidal strains of Salmonella. http://phys.org/news191164395.html Medicine & Health Thu, 22 Apr 2010 15:00:04 EST news191164395 Researchers at King's College London's Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, based at St Thomas' Hospital have discovered new ways of measuring biological markers in the blood which could be used to diagnose osteoarthritis earlier. http://phys.org/news191158421.html Medicine & Health Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:10:08 EST news191158421 A blood test used to determine the level of inflammation in the body may offer some help in assessing colon cancer risk, according to results of a study to be presented by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center's Gong Yang, M.D., MPH, at the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). http://phys.org/news190918966.html Medicine & Health Mon, 19 Apr 2010 19:00:01 EST news190918966 A new simple, inexpensive three-in-one test to diagnose a terrible trio of parasitic diseases that wreak havoc in the developing world is passing preliminary tests, scientists reported here today. Described during the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society the test is for Chagas' disease, leishmaniasis, and "sleeping sickness" or African trypanosomiasis. http://phys.org/news188456416.html Medicine & Health Mon, 22 Mar 2010 06:00:49 EST news188456416 Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have devised a software algorithm that could enable a common laboratory device to virtually separate a whole-blood sample into its different cell types and detect medically important gene-activity changes specific to any one of those cell types. http://phys.org/news187186788.html Medicine & Health Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:00:05 EST news187186788 (AP) -- A critical safety net for babies - that heelprick of blood taken from every newborn - is facing an ethics attack. http://phys.org/news184874819.html Medicine & Health Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:10:01 EST news184874819 A new testing method is being developed to detect cancer soon after the tumor has formed. It will identify characteristic substances in the blood which accompany a certain type of tumor. The first steps in the development have already been completed. http://phys.org/news184255487.html Nanotechnology Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:20:02 EST news184255487 Women with higher blood levels of PBDEs, a type of flame retardant commonly found in household consumer products, took longer to become pregnant compared with women who have lower PBDE levels, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. http://phys.org/news183731384.html Medicine & Health Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:30:14 EST news183731384 The study, led by Dr. Shiela Strauss, Associate Professor of Nursing and Co-Director of the Statistics and Data Management Core for NYU's Colleges of Dentistry and Nursing, examined data from 2,923 adult participants in the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey who had not been diagnosed with diabetes. The survey, conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States. http://phys.org/news180015527.html Medicine & Health Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:40:01 EST news180015527 (PhysOrg.com) -- A portable instrument manufactured by Nanosphere Inc. and recently approved by the FDA, can detect genetic variations in blood that alter the effectiveness of some drugs. http://phys.org/news178991057.html Nanotechnology Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:20:03 EST news178991057