Vaccines, government contracting and cool science
Our Tumblr site posts news, events and other items related to biopharmaceutical product development (and things we think are just cool). We also offer a free newsletter six times per year, if you prefer news in larger doses.
A tiny prototype robot that functions like a living creature is being developed which one day could be safely used to pinpoint diseases within the human body.
In fiction, silver bullets can slay werewolves and witches. But researchers now believe they can use silver particles, in essence, to slap down cancer.
Researchers envision silver compounds as being much safer than chemotherapy for healthy human cells during cancer treatment. A new study from the University of Leeds in the U.K. offers some evidence they can be at least as ferociously effective as a chemotherapy drug. Details are published in the journal Dalton Transactions.
Read more: Silver, slayer of werewolves, explored as cancer fighter - FierceBiotech Research http://www.fiercebiotechresearch.com/story/silver-slayer-werewolves-explored-cancer-fighter/2012-02-06?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal#ixzz1liBEhbJN
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Scientists Announce World’s First Magnetic Soap
University of Bristol scientists have developed a magnetic soap that could potentially one day be useful in oil spills and revolutionize cleaning products.
The soap is produced by dissolving iron in a range of inert surfactant materials composed of chloride and bromide ions — much like those found in mouthwash or fabric softener. This means the soap and the materials that it dissolves can be readily removed by applying a magnetic field.
Having contributed in large part to the Internet’s very existence, DARPA is now setting out to make its secure networks more secure. But rather than relying upon the conventional notion of a password—a complex string of letters and numerals that an individual must remember—the agency is looking to create a “cognitive fingerprint” for individuals that constantly authenticates that person for the duration of the time he or she has access to a network.
Usually this account is dedicated to cool (and sometimes weird) stuff, like sci-fi science. Today, DynPort shared results of our botulinum neurotoxin vaccine Phase 2 clinical trial, and we think that’s pretty cool too.
There’s no licensed vaccine against botulism, and it’s on the CDC’s Category A threat agent list. We’re developing this vaccine for the U.S. Department of Defense, to protect our nation and our warfighters. Thanks for taking a moment to learn more about it.
Cool - a self-sanitizing keyboard! And, it’s FDA-approved.
Vioguard’s keyboard retracts, when not in use, into a case where germicidal ultraviolet lights kill microorganisms including influenza and MRSA.
The Pentagon hasn’t come close to solving the PTSD crisis plaguing the current generation of troops. And the top brass looks like it’s ready to try anything — like a major push into a cutting-edge, controversial realm of treatment. One that’d see military personnel popping a pill to wipe away the fear they associate with traumatic memories.
The Color of Danger in Nature
Animals and plants have evolved visual warning to alert other animals (including people) that they are toxic or unpalatable.
A new study has found that nature works in predictable ways, with certain colors, patterns and visual characteristics communicating, “Back off or be sorry.”This Scorpionfish’s bright colors are a warning about its sharp spines coated with venomous mucus.
Here’s a look at the color strategies of various animals and plants.
Animals and plants use color to warn off predators and to let us know they are toxic. See how they do it.
More sci-fi science, from MIT Technology Review
Tiny Magnets Could Clear Diseases from the Blood
Researchers make magnetic nanoparticles that can latch on to harmful molecules and purge them from the blood.
STEPHEN COLBERT, The Colbert Report.
Public health folks, communicable disease experts and epidemiologists will love that joke.
(via inothernews)
(It’s okay. laugh :) )
(via jtotheizzoe)
