Little girl can sit up next to her friends for the first time
A University of Wales Trinity Saint David graduate has helped created a specialist chair that allows a seven year old girl to sit, play and eat alongside her family and friends for the first time. Evie Hopkins, from Swansea, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, spastic quadriplegia when she was four months old. The condition affects … Continue reading Little girl can sit up next to her friends for the first time
Cardiff University receives £1m investment to look after the brain’s immune system
£1m investment from the Hodge Foundation will enable researchers at Cardiff University to explore the role the brain’s immune system in brain disorders like Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and epilepsy (Cardiff University, 2016). The new five year partnership will establish The Hodge Centre for Neuropsychiatric Immunology and bring together leading experts in neuroscience and immunology. The centre … Continue reading Cardiff University receives £1m investment to look after the brain’s immune system
Research will look at 999 calls by people with dementia
A project led by the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) in partnership with University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust is going to look at calls to emergency services by older people with multiple health problems that include dementia (University of the West of England, 2016). Working with East of England Ambulance Service … Continue reading Research will look at 999 calls by people with dementia
Drug that stops brain plaques may show if they cause Alzheimer’s
It’s more than a century since Alois Alzheimer first noticed and reported sticky plaques in the post-mortem brain of a patient with what is now known to have been Alzheimer’s disease, yet there is still disagreement on whether the plaques actually cause the disease (New Scientist, 2016). The role of plaque in the disease has … Continue reading Drug that stops brain plaques may show if they cause Alzheimer’s
Scientists develop the world’s smallest extracellular needle-electrodes
A research team at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Information Engineering and the Electronics-Inspired Interdisciplinary Research Institute at Toyohashi University of Technology in Japan has developed 5μm diameter needle-electrodes on 1 mm × 1 mm block modules (Scienmag, 2016). The neuron networks in the human brain are extremely complex. Microfabricated silicon needle-electrode devices are … Continue reading Scientists develop the world’s smallest extracellular needle-electrodes
MedaPhor acquires Inventive Medical, as it announces sales growth
MedaPhor have announced the acquisition of Inventive Medical Limited (IML), a UK company which is the global supplier of cardio ultrasound simulation products under the HeartWorks brand, for a total consideration of £3m payable in shares (MedaPhor, 2016). IML’s HeartWorks simulators and online training materials have been developed by leading cardiac anaesthesiologists at University College … Continue reading MedaPhor acquires Inventive Medical, as it announces sales growth
First proposed human test of CRISPR passes initial safety review
A cancer study that would represent the first use of CRISPR in people passed a key safety review on June 21st (Science, 2016). The proposed clinical trial, in which researchers would use CRISPR to engineer immune cells to fight cancer, won approval from the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (RAC) at the US National Institutes of … Continue reading First proposed human test of CRISPR passes initial safety review
Doctors move closer to creating babies with DNA from three people
Doctors are a step closer to creating babies with DNA from three people after research on healthy embryos found the procedure was likely to produce normal pregnancies (The Guardian, 2016). Studies on embryos made with extra DNA showed that the majority were indistinguishable from standard IVF embryos, although further tests hinted that the procedure still … Continue reading Doctors move closer to creating babies with DNA from three people
Great Bear Healthcare launches new product for removing medical adhesives
Cardiff-based urology product manufacturer Great Bear Healthcare has launched a new product, GB Soft Skin, for removing medical adhesives (Great Bear Healthcare, 2016). The GB Soft Skin Medical Adhesive Remover Spray is a non-sting medical adhesive remover spray for quick and painless removal of medical adhesives, which are used to help attach medical devices such … Continue reading Great Bear Healthcare launches new product for removing medical adhesives
Wearable device could help with rehab in acute knee injury
A wearable device that records the sounds of knees cracking could reveal clues about the condition of the joint (Scientific American, 2016). The device has been developed by Omer Inan, an electrical engineer at Georgia Tech, who said “I actually feel like there’s some real information in them that can be exploited for the purposes … Continue reading Wearable device could help with rehab in acute knee injury
