Scientists Create Biological Pacemaker

Scientists have successfully tested in pigs a form of gene therapy that turns ordinary cardiac muscle cells into specialized ones that signal to the heart when it should beat, effectively creating a biological pacemaker that restored normal heart rhythm to pigs with heart block. Pig and human hearts are quite similar, so the results are encouraging, and researchers hope to begin human trials within a few years. Eventually, this procedure could offer an alternative to artificial pacemakers, which require surgical implantation and regular replacement. More…

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Laser Procedure Stimulates Tooth Tissue Growth

Lasers could someday be used to help repair teeth. Researchers were able to stimulate new dentin growth in the teeth of mice and rats after just a single dose of laser therapy. Dentin is the bonelike tissue surrounding the pulp cavity of a tooth and comprising the bulk of the tooth. This sort of procedure could not regenerate an entire tooth—it cannot rebuild enamel, the protective outer layer of tooth material, nor can it stimulate dentin regrowth if the pulp is necrotic—but it could, in some cases, allow people to avoid painful root canal procedures. More… Discuss

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VITAMIN C POSSIBLE CANCER FIGHTER

In the 1970s, Nobel Prize – winning chemist Linus Pauling reported success treating cancer with intravenous vitamin C. However, when clinical trials of oral vitamin C failed to yield results, the medical establishment largely abandoned this line of research. Now, decades later, researchers are finding that injected vitamin C can kill cancer cells without harming healthy cells and that, when used in combination with chemotherapy, it can slow tumor growth and curb chemotherapy side effects. More… Discuss

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NEWS: PROSTHESIS GIVES AMPUTEE SENSATION

Prosthesis Gives Amputee Sensation

In recent years, bioengineers have made great strides in the design of prosthetics, integrating technologies that make artificial limbs more lifelike and give amputeesgreater control over their use. Under development by one team is a bionic hand that allows the user to “feel” the objects it is grasping. Their prototype possesses sensors that send electrical signals to electrodes implanted in nerves in the arm of the wearer, providing sensory feedback that in recent tests allowed a user to identify the shape and stiffness of objects by touch alone. More…

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