techniques, disease & medicine

Scientists are using social media to track diseases and understand how people respond to them.

A group of epidemiologists and computer scientists built a system to mine various online sources for keywords suggesting disease outbreaks.

A technique called Mendelian randomization is overturning the conclusions of observational studies in public health. But researchers question whether the method can overcome its fundamental limitations.

A microneedle patch can subcutaneously deliver a contraceptive hormone to rats.

An early-stage, blood-based assay shows potential as a method for sorting patients with suspected TB from those with other respiratory illnesses.

Three-dimensional tissue cultures grown from cancer patients’ own tumors can predict responses to the drug irinotecan.

Researchers could accurately detect life-threatening vascular complications in type 2 diabetes patients by analyzing hydroxymethylated cytosines in freely circulating DNA.

Scientists engineered a new material that could be developed for use in treating tooth decay.

DNA-coated gold nanorods enable cells to be activated by light without genetic manipulation.

Genetic material from the chikungunya virus remains in mouse cells after infection and may be linked to later joint pain.

A medical art student’s master’s project will be used to help train junior physicians to perform lumbar punctures.

The glia seem to make up part of a newly described sensory organ, the discoverers suggest.

A microneedle delivers liquid medicines through tiny, fang-like points.

Some researchers and animal rights groups are amplifying their opposition to an assay that measures how long a rodent tries to stay afloat.

The three-dimensional cell cultures are still in the development phase, but researchers are excited about their use to predict patients’ responses to various treatment options.

A 3-D printed prosthetic hand moves by reading the signals in forearm muscles.

Technology is enabling increasingly lifelike models of organs to help doctors practice operations.

Johns Hopkins’s Ted Dawson discusses his lab’s demonstration that misfolded α-synuclein can move from the stomach to the brain and cause physical and cognitive symptoms.

Scientists use microneedle patches to extract DNA for diagnosing diseases in plants.