Portable Dialysis



10 Medical advances to treat non-communicable diseaseCancer Spit TestForget biopsies—a device designed by researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles detects oral cancer from a single drop of saliva. Proteins that are associated with cancer cells react with dyes on the sensor, emitting fluorescent light that can be detected with a microscope. Engineer Chih-Ming Ho notes that the same principle could be applied to make saliva-based diagnostic tests for many diseases. Artificial Lymph NodesScientists from Japan's RIKEN Institute have developed artificial versions of lymph nodes, organs that produce immune cells for fighting infections. Though they could one day replace diseased nodes, the artificial ones may initially be used as customized immune boosters. Doctors could fill the nodes with cells specifically geared to treat certain conditions, such as cancer or HIV. Prosthetic FeedbackOne challenge of prosthetic limbs is that they're difficult to monitor. "You and I sense where our limbs are spatially without having to look at them, whereas amputees don't," says Stanford University graduate student Karlin Bark. Skin is sensitive to being stretched—it can detect even small changes in direction and intensity—so Bark is developing a device that stretches an amputee's skin near the prosthesis in ways that provide feedback about the limb's position and movement.Biological PacemakerElectronic pacemakers save lives, but use hardware that eventually wears out. Now, researchers at several universities are developing a batteryless alternative: pacemaker genes expressed in stem cells that are injected into damaged regions of the heart. Better suited for physical exertion, biological pacemakers have been shown to bring slow canine hearts back up to speed without complications. Veeravit Phitphisarn 8EGastrointestinal LinerObesity is associated with type II diabetes, which over time wears out the pancreas. A gastrointestinal liner developed by Massachusetts-based GI Dynamics may restore the obese to a healthy weight by preventing food from contacting the intestinal wall. The Endobarrier is routed endoscopically through the mouth—unlike a gastric bypass, no surgery is necessary—and lines the first 2 ft of the small intestine, where the most calories are absorbed (nutrients are still absorbed farther down the intestine). Absorbable Heart StentStents open arteries that have become narrowed or blocked because of coronary artery disease. Drug-eluting stents release medication that keeps the artery from narrowing again. The bio-absorbable version made by Abbott Laboratories in Illinois goes one step further: Unlike metal stents, it does its job and disappears. After six months the stent begins to dissolve, and after two years it's completely gone, leaving behind a healthy artery. Portable DialysisMore than 15 million adult Americans suffer from diseases of the kidneys, which often impair the ability of the organs to remove toxins from the blood. Standard dialysis involves three long sessions at a hospital per week. But an artificial kidney developed by Los Angeles-based Xcorporeal can clean blood around the clock. The machine is fully automated, battery-operated, waterproof and, at less than 5 pounds, portable. Liver ScannerHow healthy is your liver? Until recently, answering that question often required a painful biopsy. French company EchoSens has developed a machine that scans the organ for damage in just 5 minutes. Studies have shown that damaged livers become stiffer and less elastic, so the scanner, called the Fibroscan, measures the organ's elasticity using ultrasound. Breaking Down Breast CancerBreast cancer is certainly a complex disease, driven by myriad genetic and lifestyle factors. But in the latest analysis of the DNA of breast tumors, researchers are heartened by the fact that the disease may be slightly simpler than they had thought. The Cancer Genome Atlas, a government project that is sequencing the genomes of dozens of cancers, found more than 30,000 mutations in 510 samples of breast tumors, but these fell into four major subtypes. One showed close ties to ovarian cancer, opening up the possibility that treatments for that cancer can also help breast-cancer patients, while another helps explain why some have better outcomes than others among women with HER-2 receptor tumors that are supposed to respond to drugs like Herceptin. The knowledge could translate into changes in the way doctors treat breast cancers and be the difference between surviving or becoming a victim of the disease.Insulin and other hypoglycemic agentsDiabetes is a major contributor to disease in the world. While it only ranks as the number 7 cause of death in the U.S. it is being increasingly understood that even minor amounts of hyperglycemia can contribute to vascular disease, particularly heart disease and stroke (which rank as the first and fourth most common causes of death). Undoubtedly without these treatments the incidence of vascular disease and infection would be astronomically higher.ReflectionI think scientists are trying to change what it to be human. Because human have to grow older and older as the cells develop. The cells can develop so the human grow have to develop also. Human is something that can be pain or ageing if the scientist change to be not pain or ageing the meaning of the human will be change because the human can be pain and ageing. Pain is mean to be hurt or injury, suffering, sorrow, ache, discomfort, hurt. So human have to be all these thing. Human have to feel pain if human not feel pain it’s not human something like Alien. But Fish cannot feel pain say scientists.For years a row has raged over whether angling is a cruel sport, and now researchers have waded into the debate by claiming that fish cannot feel pain.If human cannot feel pain the human can to anything that they want. Example steel the thing kill people like immortal. Then the world will end. So the meaning of the human will changed. So the scientist will change the human meaning. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download