Mathematics Used to Improve Wound Healing Methodologies

Chandan Sen, a research professor in the surgery department at Ohio State University, teamed up with Avner Friedman, professor of mathematicians at the university, and Chuan Xue, a postdoc at Ohio State's Mathematical Biosciences Institute, to create a mathematical model for ischemic wounds. This new computational tool should provide predictive guidance on how a given wound might progress, allowing researchers to develop more precise protocols to deal with wounds and dehiscences.

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Students at the University of Applied Arts Vienna have developed a novel powered wheelchair design that may overcome some of the limitations of contemporary models. For a start, the chair can glide over a toilet and, thanks to a hatch on the bottom, no one has to perform acrobatic tricks in the loo. The chair also articulates and provides a power lift to help reach things that are higher up. Additionally, a novel combination of treads and wheels allows riding up and down stairs, though we would like to see a final product that can actually pull this off.

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We have known for many years that melittin, an ingredient in bee venom, is a poison to tumor cells. Development of therapeutic uses of the substance has been stymied by the fact that melittin does damage to healthy cells as well. Now researchers from Washington University in St. Louis have developed nanoparticles called "nanobees" that can ferry the melittin directly to tumor cells with great specificity.

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Hologic out of Bedford, Massachusetts has announced that the firm's ThinPrep® Integrated Imager has received the European CE Mark, and that will allow the sale of the device across the continent. The ThinPrep provides cytology screening for cervical cancer by combining imaging and slide review into a single apparatus. Conveniently, the imager in the device can be used as a stand alone microscope for other purposes.

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Paul McFedries is profiling the field of synthetic biology in the latest IEEE Spectrum. This newly emerging science that has great potential, among other things, for regenerative medicine.

A snippet:  Biobricks require host cells to ride in, often called the chassis or the hardware. The host role is often filled by the famous E. coli bacterium. But E. coli, yeast, and other natural cells are complex and can interfere with whatever function the inserted genetic device is trying to perform.

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