Glowing bandage to show infection

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
16 September 2011 Last updated at 13:05 GMT The polymers activate a pink fluorescent dye when they come into contact with bacteria A wound dressing that glows to indicate an infection has been developed.

Scientists at Sheffield University have produced a gel containing molecules that bind to bacteria and activate a fluorescent dye.

The dressing emits a pinkish glow under ultraviolet light when harmful levels of bacteria are present.

It should help doctors treating chronic wounds such as ulcers. Army medics could also use it to identify soldiers with infected battlefield injuries.

Part of the funding for the research has come from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, an agency of the Ministry of Defence.

It is hoped that testing on patients will begin within two years.

Bugs eradicated

Professor Sheila MacNeil, one of the researchers at the University of Sheffield, said: "If you know you've got infection it's going to change how you treat your soldiers, it's going to change how you're going to treat those patients in the home.

"We could get to an early-stage clinical trial in two to three years."

As well as shining a spotlight on bacteria, the gel can rid a wound of up to 80% of surface bugs in about three hours.

Currently, it takes several days to determine significant levels of bacterial infection by growing swab samples in the laboratory.

Bacteria highlighted by the dressing include those which cause legionella, salmonella, E. coli, MRSA, C difficile, meningitis and peritonitis.

Project leader Dr Steve Rimmer, also from the University of Sheffield, said: "The availability of these gels would help clinicians and wound care nurses to make rapid, informed decisions about wound management, and help reduce the overuse of antibiotics."

View the original article here

Peliculas Online

Read More

Glowing Kittens Help In Fight Against AIDS

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Here's an experiment: Turn off your lights, shine a blue flashlight on the cats in the room and look for the ones that turn neon green, like a glow stick.

That's how scientists at the Mayo Clinic identify cats that they've successfully treated against the feline immunodeficiency virus.

The AIDS epidemic in humans is well-known. Less known is that every year, millions of cats suffer and die from the disease.

To protect cats against feline AIDS, the Mayo Clinic and colleagues in Japan devised a treatment with a peculiar side effect. They took monkey genes that block HIV infection and injected them into cat eggs. Kittens born from those eggs produced AIDS-resistant protein in the same cells that get infected, effectively shielding them from the disease. Their offspring are also immune.

To tell the treated cats from the untreated ones, scientists added another simple ingredient to the mix: jellyfish genes, which make the modified cells glow a green color.

"It allows you to tell whether the gene of interest is in the cell without having to do an invasive test," Dr. Eric Poeschla, a molecular biologist with the Mayo Clinic, tells Guy Raz, host of weekends on All Things Considered. Scientists simply turn off the lights and shine a blue light to tell which cats have the AIDS-resistant gene.

The cats don't feel a thing, Poeschla says. "They're healthy and happy and they're playful."

The feline treatment could help other mammals down the line. The Mayo team isn't injecting human stem cells with the monkey-jellyfish concoction, but it is watching the cats for new insights.

"If they have the power to protect, then they could perhaps be used in the future in human gene therapy," Poeschla says.

Unfortunately, you can't get your own glow-in-the dark kitty just yet.

Animals

Subscribe to Animals podcast via:

Or use this URL:

close

All Things Considered–

Researchers at Crater Lake National Park have been documenting the park's soundscape.

Monkey genes protect cats against HIV infection; jellyfish genes make them glow.

"It's us against the snails," says an official leading the eradication effort.

View the original article here

Peliculas Online

Read More

Glowing bandage to show infection

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
16 September 2011 Last updated at 13:05 GMT The polymers activate a pink fluorescent dye when they come into contact with bacteria A wound dressing that glows to indicate an infection has been developed.

Scientists at Sheffield University have produced a gel containing molecules that bind to bacteria and activate a fluorescent dye.

The dressing emits a pinkish glow under ultraviolet light when harmful levels of bacteria are present.

It should help doctors treating chronic wounds such as ulcers. Army medics could also use it to identify soldiers with infected battlefield injuries.

Part of the funding for the research has come from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, an agency of the Ministry of Defence.

It is hoped that testing on patients will begin within two years.

Bugs eradicated

Professor Sheila MacNeil, one of the researchers at the University of Sheffield, said: "If you know you've got infection it's going to change how you treat your soldiers, it's going to change how you're going to treat those patients in the home.

"We could get to an early-stage clinical trial in two to three years."

As well as shining a spotlight on bacteria, the gel can rid a wound of up to 80% of surface bugs in about three hours.

Currently, it takes several days to determine significant levels of bacterial infection by growing swab samples in the laboratory.

Bacteria highlighted by the dressing include those which cause legionella, salmonella, E. coli, MRSA, C difficile, meningitis and peritonitis.

Project leader Dr Steve Rimmer, also from the University of Sheffield, said: "The availability of these gels would help clinicians and wound care nurses to make rapid, informed decisions about wound management, and help reduce the overuse of antibiotics."

View the original article here

Peliculas Online

Read More