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. In recent years, researchers have worked to develop more flexible, functional prosthetics for soldiers returning home from battlefields in Afghanistan or Iraq with missing arms or legs. But even new prosthetics have trouble keeping bacteria from entering the body through the space where the device has been implanted. http://phys.org/news220020796.html Nanotechnology Tue, 22 Mar 2011 13:54:17 EST news220020796 At present, cartilage implants created using stem cells can only be constructed as a solid shape, acting as an interim measure before the almost inevitable need for total joint replacement. http://phys.org/news219578778.html Medicine & Health Thu, 17 Mar 2011 11:06:29 EST news219578778 Ink-jet printing technology has inspired scientists to look for ways to build sheets of skin that could one day be used for grafts in burn victims, experts said Sunday. http://phys.org/news217442013.html Medicine & Health Sun, 20 Feb 2011 16:36:19 EST news217442013 Within a Northeast Ohio lab, a hairless mouse is growing an ear from the cells of a Wadsworth, Ohio, preschooler. http://phys.org/news217009122.html Medicine & Health Tue, 15 Feb 2011 16:18:58 EST news217009122 Research conducted by UC Davis Health System and the Shiley Center for Orthopaedic Research and Education at Scripps Clinic shows how the protein filament vimentin provides healthy cartilage with the mechanical strength and flexibility necessary to resist stress. Published in the January 2011 issue of the Journal of Orthopaedic Research, the study is the first detailed look at the role of vimentin in cartilage in both healthy and osteoarthritic joints. http://phys.org/news211468919.html Medicine & Health Mon, 13 Dec 2010 13:50:01 EST news211468919 Since 1987, when a surgeon at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters developed a minimally-invasive surgery to correct sunken chest, the procedure has been adopted world-wide as a standard of care and continually refined to increase its effectiveness and safety, according to a paper published in the December issue of the Annals of Surgery. http://phys.org/news211123632.html Medicine & Health Thu, 09 Dec 2010 13:27:53 EST news211123632 Ferrography, a practice used by the American and Israeli air forces to monitor the condition of machinery, extracts tiny iron particles from lubricants such as oil and grease to analyze wear in machines. Determining whether a system requires preventative maintenance can be the key to preventing catastrophic failure. http://phys.org/news209737981.html Medicine & Health Tue, 23 Nov 2010 12:33:18 EST news209737981 A team of researchers in North Carolina has discovered that lubricin, a synovial fluid glycoprotein, reduces wear to bone cartilage. This result, which has implications for the treatment of sufferers of osteoarthritis, will be presented today at the AVS 57th International Symposium & Exhibition, taking place this week at the Albuquerque Convention Center in New Mexico. http://phys.org/news206852002.html Medicine & Health Thu, 21 Oct 2010 04:20:01 EST news206852002 (PhysOrg.com) -- Manchester scientists have turned embryonic stem cells into the cells that produce cartilage, which could be used to repair damaged and diseased joints. http://phys.org/news206610207.html Biology Mon, 18 Oct 2010 08:43:42 EST news206610207 (AP) -- A surprising jump in the number of Americans hobbled by arthritis may be due to obesity, health experts said Thursday. http://phys.org/news205679859.html Medicine & Health Thu, 07 Oct 2010 14:18:26 EST news205679859 Scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) are launching a groundbreaking new project to investigate the benefits of broccoli in the fight against osteoarthritis. http://phys.org/news203761976.html Medicine & Health Wed, 15 Sep 2010 10:10:01 EST news203761976 (PhysOrg.com) -- A recent discovery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine -- that adult stem cells collected from fat tissue can be converted to cells that will grow cartilage tissue -- has focused one Arizona Arthritis Center lab's research, promising new hope for osteoarthritis sufferers. http://phys.org/news202741935.html Medicine & Health Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:12:33 EST news202741935 Researchers at New York University have developed an innovative way to look at the development of osteoarthritis in the knee joint—one that relies on the examination of sodium ions in cartilage. Their work, which appears in the Journal of Magnetic Resonance, may provide a non-invasive method to diagnose osteoarthritis in its very early stages. http://phys.org/news202129118.html Medicine & Health Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:59:00 EST news202129118 Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a gas more commonly associated with the smell of 'rotten eggs' and blocked drains. However, it has now been shown to be present naturally in our bodies and reside in knee joint synovial fluid, the protective fluid found in the cavities of joints that reduces friction between the cartilage of joints during movement. Synovial fluid H2S may play a role in reducing inflammation in joints. http://phys.org/news201519074.html Medicine & Health Fri, 20 Aug 2010 11:00:25 EST news201519074 An injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is fairly common, especially among young athletes. While it can often be corrected through surgery, the injury can lead to increased risk of developing degenerative joint diseases, including osteoarthritis (OA). The problem is that fluid in the knee joint, which lubricates the cartilage, is impacted by the trauma of the injury and begins to deteriorate. A new study from Rhode Island Hospital researchers identifies options for restoring that lubrication to potentially prevent development of OA. The study is published in the August 2010 edition of the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism and is now available online ahead of print. http://phys.org/news200223158.html Medicine & Health Thu, 05 Aug 2010 10:50:01 EST news200223158 A pioneering study published Online First in the Lancet has shown that failing joints can be replaced with a joint grown naturally using the host's own stem cells. The work paves the way for a future of naturally grown joints that would last longer than currently used artificial joints. The work was carried out by Professor Jeremy J Mao, and his team at Columbia University Medical Center, New York, USA, and colleagues from University of Missouri and Clemson University. http://phys.org/news199502727.html Medicine & Health Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:30:02 EST news199502727 Too little of a protein called neogenin results in a smaller skeleton during development and sets the stage for a more fragile bone framework lifelong, Medical College of Georgia researchers report. http://phys.org/news199444012.html Biology Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:07:16 EST news199444012 Rearing juvenile salmon at the relatively high temperature of 16 C causes skeletal deformities in the fish. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Physiology investigated both the magnitude and mechanisms of this effect, which occurs when salmon farmers use warmed water to increase fish growth rates. http://phys.org/news197547426.html Biology Mon, 05 Jul 2010 19:00:01 EST news197547426 A recent study determined that bone area predicted the development of medial (inner side) and lateral (outer side) knee cartilage damage and loss of medial cartilage volume. Subchondral bone mineral density (BMD) was associated with medial defect development but not cartilage loss. Researchers believe subchondral bone changes and loss of cartilage contribute to the development of osteoarthritis (OA). Read details of the study online or in the July issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology. http://phys.org/news196593151.html Medicine & Health Thu, 24 Jun 2010 10:40:04 EST news196593151 Spanish scientists have proposed using human amniotic membrane as a new tool for repairing damaged human articular cartilage, which heals very poorly because of its low capacity for self-repair. Their research, published in the journal Cell and Tissue Banking, shows that the cellular density of the cartilage synthesized could be greater than that of the body's own natural cartilage. http://phys.org/news196505425.html Medicine & Health Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:50:38 EST news196505425 (PhysOrg.com) -- The ultimate goal is to grow replacement cartilage in a lab that can be used to repair human joints and treat osteoarthritis. http://phys.org/news195233035.html Medicine & Health Tue, 08 Jun 2010 17:00:01 EST news195233035 A twice weekly hip strengthening regimen performed for six weeks proved surprisingly effective at reducing -- and in some cases eliminating -- knee pain referred to as patellofemoral pain (PFP) in female runners. http://phys.org/news194893897.html Medicine & Health Fri, 04 Jun 2010 18:12:26 EST news194893897 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new study suggests the long necks of sauropod dinosaurs really were held high, in spite of theories suggesting they were more likely to keep their necks low because of the very high blood pressure resulting from the long distance from heart if they lifted their heads. http://phys.org/news194768883.html Other Sciences Thu, 03 Jun 2010 08:00:02 EST news194768883 People often have strong opinions on the "right" firmness of mattresses for themselves, and, as it turns out, some cell types have similar preferences for their support structures. Now a research team from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Institutes of Health has developed a way to offer cells a three-dimensional scaffold that varies over a broad range of degrees of stiffness to determine where they develop best. Their recently published technique* is a way to rapidly optimize 3D cell growth media to meet the developmental needs of specific cell types for a wide variety of potential tissue-replacement therapies. http://phys.org/news194180065.html Chemistry Thu, 27 May 2010 11:54:52 EST news194180065 The anti-cancer drug AE-941, a shark cartilage derivative, did not improve overall survival in patients with inoperable stage III non-small cell lung cancer, according to a study published online May 26 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. http://phys.org/news194118381.html Medicine & Health Wed, 26 May 2010 19:30:02 EST news194118381 Deborah Schop of the University of Twente, The Netherlands, and the MIRA research institute has developed a new method of stem cell culture. With the new method Schop can cultivate stem cells in a closed system. This means a time saving of two weeks in comparison with the old method. Schop obtained her PhD on 19 May from the Faculty of Science and Technology. http://phys.org/news193637630.html Biology Fri, 21 May 2010 05:14:25 EST news193637630 Immune cell function in an individual can be monitored noninvasively in the clinic using a technique known as a PET scan. http://phys.org/news193319916.html Medicine & Health Mon, 17 May 2010 17:00:09 EST news193319916 (PhysOrg.com) -- Collagen, a type of connective tissue that makes up about 30 percent of the human body, plays many roles. The structural protein is an important component of muscle, skin, bones and cartilage, and forms scar tissue when injuries heal. http://phys.org/news193055451.html Chemistry Fri, 14 May 2010 11:31:12 EST news193055451 (PhysOrg.com) -- Tissue engineering has long held promise for building new organs to replace damaged livers, blood vessels and other body parts. However, one major obstacle is getting cells grown in a lab dish to form 3-D shapes instead of flat layers. http://phys.org/news192968664.html Chemistry Thu, 13 May 2010 11:24:57 EST news192968664 Scientists seeking new ways to fight maladies ranging from arthritis and osteoporosis to broken bones that won't heal have cleared a formidable hurdle, pinpointing and controlling a key molecular player to keep stem cells in a sort of extended infancy. It's a step that makes treatment with the cells in the future more likely for patients. http://phys.org/news189172687.html Medicine & Health Tue, 30 Mar 2010 12:58:44 EST news189172687