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Body Rebuilding: Scientists Regenerate Muscle in Mice

By Guest PostDecember 10, 2011Sciencebiopolymer microthreads, blood clot, cellthera, clinical therapy, cloning, fibrin microthreads, george pins, human muscle cells, implanted cells, leg muscle, mammalian skeletal muscles, mouse, muscle repair, muscle trauma, raymond page, stem cell, threads, tissue restoration, worcester polytechnic institute, wound, wpi

*New Study Uses Reprogrammed Human Cells and Bioengineered Microthreads*

A team of scientists from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and CellThera, a private company located in WPI’s Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center, have regenerated functional muscle tissue in mice, opening the door for a new clinical therapy to treat people who suffer major muscle trauma.

The team used a novel protocol to coax mature human muscle cells into a stem cell-like state and grew those reprogrammed cells on biopolymer microthreads. The threads were placed in a wound created by surgically removing a large section of leg muscle from a mouse. Over time, the threads and cells restored near-normal function to the muscle, as reported in the paper “Restoration of Skeletal Muscle Defects with Adult Human Cells Delivered on Fibrin Microthreads”, published in the current issue of the journal Tissue Engineering. Surprisingly, the microthreads, which were used simply as a scaffold to support the reprogrammed human cells, actually seemed to accelerate the regeneration process by recruiting progenitor mouse muscle cells, suggesting that they alone could become a therapeutic tool for treating major muscle trauma. (more…)

More Power to the Cranberry: Study Shows the Juice is Better than Extracts at Fighting Bacterial Infections

By Guest PostOctober 29, 2011Health, Scienceage old wisdom, berry, biofilm formation, cranberries, cranberry sauce, e coli bacteria, escherichia coli, fimbriae, flavonoids, hair like projections, infection fighting properties, juice, kerrie holguin, pacs, paola andrea pinzon arango, precursor of infection, proanthocyanidins, sauce, strain of e coli, terri camesano, urinary tract infections, utis, worcester polytechnic institute

With scientific evidence now supporting the age-old wisdom that cranberries, whether in sauce or as juice, prevent urinary tract infections, people have wondered if there was an element of the berry that, if extracted and condensed, perhaps in pill form, would be as effective as drinking the juice or eating cranberry sauce. A new study from researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute helps to answer that question.

The study tested proanthocyanidins or PACs, a group of flavonoids found in cranberries. Because they were thought to be the ingredient that gives the juice its infection-fighting properties, PACs have been considered a hopeful target for an effective extract. The new WPI report, however, shows that cranberry juice, itself, is far better at preventing biofilm formation, which is the precursor of infection, than PACs alone. The data is reported in the paper “Impact of Cranberry Juice and Proanthocyanidins on the Ability of Escherichia coli to Form Biofilms,” which will be published on-line, ahead of print, Oct. 31, 2011, by the journal Food Science and Biotechnology. (more…)

Hold the Phone for Vital Signs

By Guest PostOctober 20, 2011Science, Technologyaf, atrial fibrillation, biomedical engineering, blood oxygen saturation, built in video camera, christopher scully, domhnull granquist fraser, heart rate, heart rhythm, holter heart monitor, ipad, iphone app, ki chon, mobile phone, motorola droid phone, optical recordings, physiological parameter, respiration rate, tablet devices, vital physiological data, vital signs, worcester polytechnic institute, wpi, yitzhak mendelson

*WPI researchers turn a smart phone into a medical monitor*

An iPhone app that measures the user’s heart rate is not only a popular feature with consumers, but it sparked an idea for a Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) researcher who is now turning smart phones, and eventually tablet devices, into sophisticated medical monitors able to capture and transmit vital physiological data.

A team led by Ki Chon, professor and head of biomedical engineering at WPI, has developed a smart phone application that can measure not only heart rate, but also heart rhythm, respiration rate and blood oxygen saturation using the phone’s built-in video camera. The new app yields vital signs as accurate as standard medical monitors now in clinical use. Details of the new technology are reported in the paper “Physiological Parameter Monitoring from Optical Recordings with a Mobile Phone,” published online, in advance of print, by the journal IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering. (more…)

Leakage of Private Information from Popular Websites is Common, New Study Finds

By Guest PostJune 12, 2011Technologyad blockers, browser fingerprints, consumer privacy, craig wills, federal trade commission, ftc, oakland, pancreatic cancer, popular websites, privacy by design initiative, privacy protection, private information, protect user privacy, sensitive search terms, Social networking, user id, user identity, web 2.0 security and privacy conference, websites, worcester polytechnic institute, wpi

*Co-Authored by WPI Computer Science Professor Craig Wills, Study Shows that Existing and Proposed Safeguards Against Leakage and Linking of Private Information are Inadequate*

A study of more than 100 popular websites used by tens of millions of people has found that three quarters directly leak either private information o r users’ unique identifiers to third-party tracking sites. The study, co-authored by Craig Wills, professor of computer science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), also demonstrated how the leakage of private information by many sites, including email addresses, physical addresses, and even the configuration of a user’s web browser—so-called browser fingerprints—could permit tracking sites to link many disparate pieces of information, including browsing histories contained in tracking cookies and the contents of searches on health and travel sites, to create detailed profiles of individuals. (more…)

Tag Archives: worcester polytechnic institute

Body Rebuilding: Scientists Regenerate Muscle in Mice

More Power to the Cranberry: Study Shows the Juice is Better than Extracts at Fighting Bacterial Infections

Hold the Phone for Vital Signs

Leakage of Private Information from Popular Websites is Common, New Study Finds