biotech

Improved Vision From New Eye Procedure

Filed in archive Diagnostics, Methodologies and Instrumentation , Other Biotechnology News on August 15, 2010

Improved Vision From New Eye Procedure
© FeatheredTar
Today, most people are aware of the benefits of Lasik eye surgery for the treatment of an eyesight condition better known as double vision. However, there is a new procedure called laser blended vision surgery.

Lasik eye surgery became a popular treatment procedure because of its success in treating the eye's difficulty in focusing up-close objects. This is done by correcting the vision of one eye for distance while the other, for close vision. What is not covered by Lasik however, is the middle range of vision so that a gap in vision resulted.

With the new procedure, there will no longer be any vision gap because it is able to increase the depth of field for each eye. Laser blended vision surgery can also treat other vision impairments such as near-sightedness, far-sightedness and astigmatism.

The average time the procedure takes to be done is 10 to 15 minutes while the usual recovery period is only a few hours. Reported rate of success of the new procedure is a whopping 97%.

Bookmark
img Addthis
img Ask
img Blinklist
img del.icio.us
img Digg
img Fark
img Facebook
img Google
img Lycos
img Ma.gnolia
Add this page to Mister Wong Mr Wong
img Netscape
img Netvousz
img Newsvine
img Reddit
img StumbleUpon
img Slashdot
img Tailrank
img Technorati
img Wink
img Yahoo

Ouch-less Flu Vaccines, Coming Soon

Filed in archive Drugs, Vaccines and Therapeutics , Other Biotechnology News on July 21, 2010

Ouch-less Flu Vaccines, Coming Soon
© samantha celera
With the recent development of flu vaccines in the form of Band-Aid like patches, not only can the vaccine be self-administered painlessly, but it can also be ordered and delivered through the mail.

The vaccine patches actually contain microneedles that are just three hundredths of an inch in size and only feel like fine sandpaper. These microneedles also dissolve within 15 minutes of application on the skin so there's no need for special disposal procedures, as there will be no leftover sharp needles.

The patient-friendly vaccine is the product of research by a team from Georgia Institute of Technology headed by researcher Mark Prausnitz. The said research - which was supported by the National Institutes of Health- produced successfully test results on mice.

The patches were found to deliver the correct doses of the vaccine and showed no harmful effects if left attached for more than 15 minutes. This groundbreaking discovery is anticipated to be available for human use in five years.

Bookmark
img Addthis
img Ask
img Blinklist
img del.icio.us
img Digg
img Fark
img Facebook
img Google
img Lycos
img Ma.gnolia
Add this page to Mister Wong Mr Wong
img Netscape
img Netvousz
img Newsvine
img Reddit
img StumbleUpon
img Slashdot
img Tailrank
img Technorati
img Wink
img Yahoo

Vision-Aiding Implantable Device, Approved By The FDA

Filed in archive Other Biotechnology News on July 8, 2010

Vision-Aiding Implantable Device, Approved By The FDA
© paul (dex)
The use of micro-sized implantable telescopes to improve vision in patients with end-stage, age-related macular degeneration has been approved by the FDA.

A condition that affects older people, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) damages the center of the retina (or macula), resulting in loss of vision in the center of the visual field.

Designed to replace the natural lens, the tiny device approved by the FDA is called an Implantable Miniature Telescope (IMT). It provides an image that has been magnified more than two times.

The IMT comes in two models: one model provides 2.2 times magnification and the other 2.7 times. It is designed to magnify and project images onto a healthy portion of the afflicted person's retina. It is intended for use in only one eye because the other eye is used for peripheral vision.

IMT is a product developed by VisionCare.

Bookmark
img Addthis
img Ask
img Blinklist
img del.icio.us
img Digg
img Fark
img Facebook
img Google
img Lycos
img Ma.gnolia
Add this page to Mister Wong Mr Wong
img Netscape
img Netvousz
img Newsvine
img Reddit
img StumbleUpon
img Slashdot
img Tailrank
img Technorati
img Wink
img Yahoo

Human Collagen Production from Tobacco Plants

Filed in archive Genomics, Proteomics and Bioinformatics on June 27, 2010

Human Collagen Production from Tobacco Plants
© minnemom
Researchers have succeeded in producing a replica of human collagen from tobacco plants, possibly making the production of commercially produced collagen for use in surgical implants and many wound healing devices in regenerative medicine. Currently, commercial collagen is produced from farm animals such as cows and pigs as well as from human cadavers and are thus prone to harbor human pathogens such as viruses or prions and, in the case of human cadavers, may possesses serious ethical issues.

Producing human recombinant type I pro-collagen requires the coordinated expression of five different genes. Prof. Oded Shoseyov of the Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture has established the only laboratory in the world that has reported successful co-expression all the five essential genes in transgenic tobacco plants for the production of processed pro-collagen.


The protocol has been published recently in the journal Biomacromolecules and is already patented by CollPlant Ltd.

Bookmark
img Addthis
img Ask
img Blinklist
img del.icio.us
img Digg
img Fark
img Facebook
img Google
img Lycos
img Ma.gnolia
Add this page to Mister Wong Mr Wong
img Netscape
img Netvousz
img Newsvine
img Reddit
img StumbleUpon
img Slashdot
img Tailrank
img Technorati
img Wink
img Yahoo

Stem Cells Can Restore Vision

Filed in archive Drugs, Vaccines and Therapeutics , Stem Cells on June 24, 2010

Stem Cells Can Restore Vision
© WTL photos
Some blind patients are able to see again with the help of a regenerative treatment that uses stem cells taken from the patient's own eyes.

Such were the findings reported by Italian researchers: the stem cell procedure resulted in successful corneal transplantation in three-fourths of patients with blindness in one or both eyes, caused mostly by chemical or thermal burns.

On the other hand, in those patients who did not have major damage to other parts of the affected eye, at least vision was partially restored.

The study's researcher Graziella Pellegrini, PhD of the University of Moderna's Center for Regenerative Medicine and her team have performed corneal transplants in around 250 patients over the last decade using the said stem cell technique. However, the procedure remains experimental and is not being done in the United States.

Bookmark
img Addthis
img Ask
img Blinklist
img del.icio.us
img Digg
img Fark
img Facebook
img Google
img Lycos
img Ma.gnolia
Add this page to Mister Wong Mr Wong
img Netscape
img Netvousz
img Newsvine
img Reddit
img StumbleUpon
img Slashdot
img Tailrank
img Technorati
img Wink
img Yahoo
Share It
RSSrss
Google google
Yahoo! yahoo
Addthis Subscribe using any feed reader!
Bloglines Bloglines
TwitterFollow us on Twitter!
Most Popular   Best of   Biotech Hubs and Facilities   Biotech/Science Blogs   Corporate and Industrial News   Diagnostics, Methodologies and Instrumentation   Did you know   Drugs, Vaccines and Therapeutics   Energy, Environment and Ecology   Food and Agriculture   Gene Therapy   Genomics, Proteomics and Bioinformatics   Information About   Meetings and Other Events   Microbiology   Misc   Nanomedicine   Other Biotechnology News   Patents and Intellectual Property Rights   Quick introduction   Stem Cells