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NEWS ABOUT: medical breakthrough

Scientists Create Blood From Human Skin

It could have huge implications for transplants, transfusions

(Newser) - Researchers from McMaster University in Canada have created blood from tiny pieces of skin in a development hailed as a major breakthrough. Why the big deal? Because the blood created is genetically identical to that of the skin's donor, meaning there's no chance of rejection. Not only that, experiments have... More »

Retinal Implant Restores Partial Vision to Blind

Microchip under retina senses light, sends signals to brain

(Newser) - Scientists in Germany have used an implant to restore at least partial eyesight to three patients with a disease that causes degenerative blindness, PhysOrg reports. The new device, called a sub-retinal implant, is a light-sensitive microchip with 1,500 light sensors inserted below the retina. Previous devices required an implant... More »

Jellyfish Cells Used to Make Cancer Glow

Doctors say technique will help diagnose hard-to-spot cancers

(Newser) - A team of British scientists has dreamed up a way to track down cancerous tumors deep inside the body—by making them light up like a jellyfish. The scientists created viruses that contain light-generating green fluorescent proteins (GFPs) derived from jellyfish cells, the BBC explains. When injected into a patient,... More »

Scientists Grow Human Livers in Lab

Miniature versions created with stem cells

(Newser) - Scientists have grown human livers with stem cells, the BBC reports. The downside is they're really small, about the size of walnuts, and it will take lots more research and probably at least five years before the development is more than just a joke to forward to heavy-drinking friends. "... More »

HIV Drugs May Fight Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Researchers identify new virus in majority of patients

(Newser) - There may be hope for the 4 million Americans suffering from the baffling ailment known as chronic fatigue syndrome: A new study firms up the theory that it's caused by a virus, raising the prospect of the first effective treatment. Researchers say they've identified a mouse-related retrovirus in the vast... More »

Breath Test Can Detect Types of Cancer

'Electronic nose' can sniff out cancerous molecules

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered that through a breath test they can detect cancer. As cancer grows, it emits certain chemicals from the surface of the affected cells that can be recognized by an "electronic nose" that uses gold nanoparticles. Early results were published in the British Journal of Cancer and... More »

Computers Diagnose Autism From Scans

Program like facial recognition software recognizes signs of disorder

(Newser) - Scientists have taught a computer to recognize autism from a brain scan, and believe that from now on they could use a scan to diagnose the disorder with 90% accuracy. A London-based team of researchers ran MRI scans from 20 known autism sufferers and 20 normal brains through a program... More »

New Test Predicts Alzheimer’s

Three markers in spinal fluid may help in development of treatment

(Newser) - The presence of certain biomarkers in spinal fluid can predict the development of Alzheimer's disease, even in patients who display no symptoms, according to breakthrough research being published tomorrow. "This is what everyone is looking for, the bull’s eye of perfect predictive accuracy," a doctor not connected... More »

Man Shows Off Full Face Transplant

Spaniard regains ability to speak, eat

(Newser) - The patient who had the world's first full face transplant showed himself to the world today, the AP reports. The 31-year-old, identified only as Oscar, thanked his doctors and the family of the face donor at a hospital in Barcelona. Though he underwent surgery in March, Oscar has only been... More »

Software Detects Autism in Toddlers' Speech

In first test, it's correct 85% of the time

(Newser) - The sounds made by a young child learning to speak can signal whether the child is autistic, a new study found. Researchers attempting a first pass at designing a voice-analysis software to identify autism found that their creation worked better than they could've imagined: the program identified autistic children correctly... More »

Scientists Find Powerful HIV Antibodies

One kills 91% of strains, raising hopes for a vaccine

(Newser) - Scientists have taken a potentially big step toward an AIDS vaccine by identifying an antibody that neutralizes 91% of HIV strains, reports the Wall Street Journal . They discovered the antibody, along with two other powerful ones, in the body of a 60-year-old gay man known as Donor 45. His body... More »

New Test May Predict Timing of Menopause

Breakthrough could help women schedule childbearing

(AP) - Doctors could one day use a blood test to predict decades in advance when women will go into menopause, scientists say. The preliminary study could be a first step toward developing a tool to help women decide when they want to have children, Iranian experts say. "This is not... More »

Anti-Bleeding Drug Could Save Lives in the ER

100,000 trauma patients could benefit

(Newser) - A drug used to slow bleeding during surgery could save the lives of scores of trauma patients if used in emergency rooms, a new study suggests. UK researchers found that the drug tranexamic acid reduced bleeding deaths among trauma patients by a sixth, HealthDay reports. As 600,000 such patients... More »

Simple Test May Help Diagnose Autism Early

Stomach microbes could signal onset at 6 months old

(Newser) - Children with and without autism show marked differences in the makeup of their intestinal bacteria, and a simple urine test may help doctors diagnose the condition in children as young as 6 months old. Children typically aren't diagnosed until they're 2, delaying the start of intervention and other treatments. With... More »

Breakthroughs Boost Cancer Patients' Hopes

Breast cancer, ovarian cancer, melanoma yield to new approaches

(Newser) - New treatments for cancer—breast, ovarian, and skin—raised hopes at this weekend's meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago. The findings aren't enough for Robert Langreth of Forbes , who sees "serious questions about whether big drug companies may be rushing too fast." Judge for... More »

'Printer' Creates Organs for Transplant

Use of new technique could eventually end waiting lists for organs

(Newser) - The principles of 3D printing are being applied to medicine, raising the possibility that doctors might someday be able to produce human organs for transplant and end the use of waiting lists. California biotech company Organovo already has a prototype of the so-called "bioprinter," which uses two printer... More »

Ovarian Cancer Breakthrough Raises Hopes

New use for old test: early diagnosis of deadly disease

(Newser) - Combining an existing blood test for ovarian cancer with a new screening protocol may lead to a reliable way to diagnose the deadly disease in its early stages, a new study says. "This is an important step forward," the lead researcher tells the Houston Chronicle . " This may... More »

Face Transplant Patient Goes Public

Spanish man happy with result of procedure

(Newser) - One of the first recipients of a partial face transplant is showing the world his new look. Known only as Rafael, the man underwent surgery in January at a Spanish hospital, where the lower two-thirds of his face was replaced with tissue from a dead person, AOL News reports. Rafael... More »

FDA Approves Vaccine for Prostate Cancer

Provenge is first immunotherapy to gain approval

(AP) - A first-of-a-kind prostate cancer treatment that uses the body's immune system to fight the disease received federal approval today, offering an important alternative to more taxing treatments like chemotherapy. Dendreon Corp.'s Provenge vaccine trains the immune system to fight tumors. It's called a "vaccine" even though it treats... More »

New Idea for Healthy Babies: Three Parents

It could be possible in 3 years

(Newser) - UK researchers have grown embryos that combine the DNA of one man and two women, a development that could help babies avoid genetic defects. In broad strokes, it works like this: Parents at risk of passing on a genetic disorder fertilize an egg, and the healthy material is extracted and... More »

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