People in a minimally conscious state have been “woken” for a whole week after a brief period of brain stimulation (New Scientist, 2017). The breakthrough suggests scientists might be on the verge of creating a device that can be used at home to help people with disorders of consciousness communicate with friends and family. People … Continue reading Minimally conscious people woken for a week

EKF Diagnostics has said trading has been “comfortably ahead of budget” in the first quarter of the financial year (Insider Media, 2017). The Penarth-based medical diagnostics business has also issued an update on its plans to demerge its two divisions. In a trading update for the three months to March 31st 2017, the directors said … Continue reading EKF issues an update on its demerger plans

Cell therapy company ReNeuron has secured a £1.8m grant from Innovate UK (Insider Media, 2017). The Cell2Sell grant has been awarded under Innovate UK’s Cell & Gene Therapies Industrial Manufacture grant scheme. It will fund a programme of work to be led by ReNeuron, working with the Cell & Gene Therapy Catapult. The investment will … Continue reading ReNeuron secures £1.8m grant

Bionema has launched a unique three component solution of NemaTrident nematode products for natural insect pest control, which boasts 20% more efficiency and up to 95% kill rates (MediWales, 2017). Beneficial insect-parasitic nematodes are applied with water to control soil and foliar insect pests. Enough moisture is necessary for the nematodes to move and find … Continue reading Bionema launches new insect pest control products

The genetic makeup of any given brain cell differs from all the others (Scientific American, 2017). This realisation may provide clues to a range of psychiatric diseases. The past few decades have seen intensive efforts to find the genetic roots of neurological disorders, from schizophrenia to autism. But the genes singled out so far have … Continue reading No two neurons are genetically alike

A skin patch costing as little as 39p could revolutionise stroke treatment, significantly increasing the chances of survival (The Guardian, 2017). The patch contains glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), which lowers blood pressure and opens up blood vessels, helping reduce the damage caused in the immediate minutes and hours following a stroke. A small trial of forty … Continue reading Skin patch costing 39p could save the lives of stroke patients

Low doses of the active ingredient in cannabis, THC, may reverse brain ageing and restore learning and memory, at least according to studies of older mice (New Scientist, 2017). In some cultures it’s traditional for older people to smoke cannabis, which is said to help them pass on tribal knowledge. The research was led by … Continue reading A little cannabis each day may reverse brain ageing

Nemesis Bioscience has completed its latest funding round, taking the total seed funds raised to over £700,000 (Insider Media, 2017). The round was led by the Rainbow Seed Fund, who co-invested alongside Finance Wales and Dr Mark McCamish. Nemesis Bioscience was founded in March 2014 by Dr Frank Massam, Professor Conrad Lichtenstein and Dr Gi … Continue reading Nemesis Bioscience completes funding round

Scientists have engineered a bone-like implant to have its own working marrow which is capable of producing healthy blood (New Scientist, 2017). The implant may help treat several blood and immune disorders without the side effects of current treatments. One of the jobs of bone marrow is to produce red blood cells from stem cells. … Continue reading Synthetic bone implant makes blood cells

A new test that could hold the key to predicting blood cancer patients’ survival has been developed by Cardiff University (BBC News, 2017). Researchers said the length of the telomeres gave an “accurate indicator” of disease progression. Shorter telomeres can leave chromosome ends exposed, accelerating cancer progression and drug resistance. The team believe the study … Continue reading New test for blood cancer progression