DNA test in 1h

Researchers from Panasonic and Belgian lab IMEC have created a new chip that could be a breakthrough in genetic disease detection and personalized treatment. It is a small chip, the size of a coin, which is capable of testing an individual's DNA in one hour. Just a drop of blood is required for the analysis. The tiny invention carries out the whole process fully automatically, even at the level of detecting variations in the DNA sequence.

Variations on an individual base of DNA are known as SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism). To detect and analyze them with the current technology and processes takes up to four days and can only be performed in specialized laboratories, thus the cost is very high. This new system not only reduces the time and cost of the process, but also makes available this analysis technique to more medical centers and hospitals. Researchers still have not provided data on how much it would cost, but at least it safe to assume that it will be an important step in creating personalized medical treatments for each patient.

The video below explains in detail the technology.

Source: http://www.diginfo.tv/v/13-0022-r-en.php

Kidney grown in lab works into a rat

Scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital (Northeast U.S.) created a bioengineered kidney that was successfully transplanted into a rat. The technique is based on using the body of the recipient organism as a model. First they took a rat kidney and stripped out its functional cells using a solution of detergent. That left behind a white cellular matrix, the collagen scaffold that gives the organ its three-dimensional structure. Afterwards, they repopulated the structure with a cocktail of cells, including kidney cells from newborn rats, which grew into a functioning organ.

Around 35 000 people suffering from terminal illness of the kidneys receive a donor organ in the world each year, but five times that many patients are on waiting lists. In 2011, nearly 5,000 people died waiting for transplants. Elaine Davies, head of research operations, states that kidneys created through bioengineering would provide hope for kidney patients and those at risk of kidney disease, but she cautioned that patients should not expect imminent human trials. "This whole regenerative medicine approach is still really in its infancy in terms of kidney disease," she said. 

"Predominantly, it's just the fact that the kidney is a much more complex organ in terms of being able to replicate its anatomy and physiology when you compare it to other organs like skin or heart. It has many different types of cells within it and it has a very complex structure in terms of the different functions it performs. There's hope with a caution. I'm not saying we won't get there but it could be in [many] decades' time."Kidneys created through bioengineering, especially if they are created using resources that are not from humans, could remedy or eliminate this lack of organs.

Source:

http://www.boston.com/news/science/blogs/science-in-mind/2013/04/14/rat-kidney-that-works-mass-general-scientists-make-progress-toward-bioengineered-organs/l0zzrmdhJiPFOTlIUQMt8N/blog.html

A lab under the skin

Its small size (it measures 20 millimeters in length and four in height) will allow taking it in the body for long periods of time. This is the prototype of a tiny electronic implant capable of analyzing molecules in the body and send the results to a computer or any mobile device in a few minutes.

Sandro Carrara and Giovanni de Micheli, scientists from the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), in Switzerland, who have developed it, show some applications of this implant. For example, the possibility to permanently track patients who are receiving chemotherapy, diabetic patients and other chronically ill so that they can reduce the frequency of traditional blood test in order to refine their doses of medication.

"The system consists of two parts. A device without battery which is placed under the skin and has a size that allows to insert it using a cannula. On the other hand, it consists of an electronic patch that is placed on the skin directly over the implant. The internal device collects information on various molecules found in the connective tissue and transmits it to the electronic patch, which in turn provides energy via electromagnetic induction. The external patch sends the information gathered by the internal implant to a smartphone or tablet via a radio transmitter. The batteries are only in the patch, so it can be replaced without removing the implant".

Carrara also says that the system is designed to be placed in the abdomen, but also can be worn on an arm or leg. According to him, the molecular analysis of connective tissue has a very high correlation with the amount of these molecules in the blood, which permits in practice to analyze the concentration of a large number of substances in our body. So far the system has been designed to detect up to five substances simultaneously. To capture each of them (glucose or lactose, for example), the five sensors are covered with an enzyme.

Scientists hope that in four years the implant can be used in hospitals and they believe it may also have a domestic use. "Potentially we can detect any substance," they say. Among them, any type of drug, but they need time to adapt the system to new applications. For its creators, this system is a step toward personalized medicine and telemedicine. In patients with chronic diseases, implants can send alerts even before symptoms appear to anticipate the need for medication. In the case of persons being subjected to a treatment, eg chemotherapy, the dose may be adjusted based on individual patient tolerance and not in the weekly analysis of blood or tables based on the age or weight.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/257898.php