New research suggests that "nanomagnets" might one day be a useful tool in the fight against cancer.

The research, carried out by a team from Edinburgh University and published in Nature Nanotechnology, concerns ways to make strong biological nanomagnets.

Biological nanomagnets are not new, however their effectivness has previously been limited by their low strength. The new research involved growing nanomagnets in a cobalt rich solution. This resulted in magnets some 40% stronger than usual.

The hope is that the biological nanomagnets could be made to target cancerous cells. An opposing field could then be passed through them, causing them to heat up and burn out the cancer.

The research is still at an extremely early stage and it will be well into the future before there's any possibility of this technology providing a practical cancer treatment.

Labels: cancer, Health, Nanotechnology

A joint project between US and Japanese scientists has resulted in a robot in Japan being controlled by brain signals from America - sent over the internet!

The research, led by Professor Miguel Nicolelis of Duke University, is part of a long term attempt to restore mobility to disabled people. In this latest experiment,a monkey was trained to walk on a treadmill in the US and had a chip surgically implanted in its brain. Its brain signals were monitored and sent over the internet to Japan where they were used to control the movement of a robot.

If the technology can be adapted for human use, it could involve a disabled patient controlling artificial limbs by the use of thought.

There are obviously many other possible uses for this technology. For instance thought controlled robots could be used in disaster situations or for dangerous tasks such as bomb disposal. In the future we might even see workers regularly "jacking in" from home for jobs in unhealthy environments.

Labels: Health, Robots

A team of scientists from the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas has created what is being described as a "supercarrot".

The researchers report that by slightly modifying one gene (sCAX1) they have made a carrot that is a better nutritional source of calcium. Volunteers in a study who ate the GM carrots absorbed 41% more calcium than those who ate natural vegetables.

The creators of this artificial carrot hope that it can help in the fight against osteoporosis, however they stress that no "magic food" can cure nutritional problems. Doctor Kendal Hirschi who led the study notes that "Much more research needs to be conducted before this would be available to consumers".

Whilst I applaud the intentions of these researchers, I remain strongly opposed to introducing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the food chain. Like many others, including Greenpeace, I hope that these carrots have no part in our future.

Labels: Environment, GM Food, Health

An outbreak of H5N1 Avian Influenza ("bird flu") has been confirmed in Dorset, South England. Three mute swans have been killed by the virus and others are being tested at Abbotsbury Swannery. There are currently no plans for a mass cull of birds.

The UK Department for Environment, Food and Regional Affairs (Defra) has established a 3km Control Area and a 10km Monitoring Area. A full epidemiological investigation is underway.

More information is available from the Defra website at:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/disease/ai/index.htm

The expert advice is that there is no need to panic over this outbreak. Even H5N1 finds it difficult to move from wild birds to humans and extremely difficult to move from human to human.

The worry is that there seem to be an increasing number of these outbreaks. Sooner or later H5N1 is going to mutate in such a way that it can move through the human population. My personal guess for the future is that at some point in my lifetime Europe will see a bird flu pandemic.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has a six level pandemic alert rating. According to the WHO:

"Experts at WHO and elsewhere believe that the world is now closer to another influenza pandemic than at any time since 1968, when the last of the previous century's three pandemics occurred."

Labels: bird flu, H5N1, Health, uk

Despite all the advances in medical science, winter colds and flu remain a persistent problem - a problem which for some people can be life-threatening (influenza - kills between 500,000 and 1 million people worldwide each year). The common cold remains beyond us but it looks as if we might be one step closer to a future without an annual dose of flu.

Although many of us have access to flu jabs, they often fail to protect us. The reason for this is that the flu virus keeps mutating. Doctors have to try and guess exactly which variety will be most common each winter and a jab that protects against one variety of flu can fail against many others. What's needed is a single vaccine that will be effective against all forms of influenza.

Biotech company Acambis reports positive data from trials of its universal influenza A vaccine ACAM-FLU-A™ - a recombinant vaccine linked to a Hepatitis B core protein.

Unlike existing vaccines which target two constantly mutating proteins (haemagglutinin and neuraminidase) the new drug targets the M2 protein.

If the drug is successful it would mean that it would no longer be necessary to keep producing new vaccines in an attempt to "outguess" the mutating flu virus.

Of course there could be a down side to all this: in the future we might lose the best excuse for calling in sick!



Photo Credit: CDC/ Dr. F. A. Murphy [via pingnews] (Creative Commons)

Labels: Health, influenza, vaccination