New research suggests it is possible to slow or even reverse ageing, at least in mice, by undoing changes in gene activity, the same kinds of changes that are caused by decades of life in humans (Scientific American, 2016). By tweaking genes that turn adult cells back into embryonic-like ones, researchers at the Salk Institute … Continue reading Researchers find ageing is reversible in mice

A living bandage made from stem cells, which could revolutionise the treatment and prognosis of meniscal tears, a common sporting knee injury, has been trialled in humans for the first time by scientists at the Universities of Bristol and Liverpool (University of Bristol, 2016). Meniscal tears are suffered by over one million people a year … Continue reading Scientists trial a living bandage for knee injuries

Magstim has announced a new partnership with Neurostim, a distributor based in Enschede in the Netherlands. The partnership involves the exclusive distribution of the Magstim TMS product range (Magstim, 2016). Neurostim has over thirteen years experience in medical device sales and marketing. The business development company focuses on the medical and technical area, and has … Continue reading Magstim announces new distribution partnership in the Netherlands

A team of researchers, lead by Professor William Griffiths of Swansea University Medical School and Professor Martin Turner of the University of Oxford, have published the results of a study that shows for the first time people with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) have higher levels of cholesterol in the fluid surrounding the brain than people … Continue reading Scientists identify a cause and possible route to treat ALS

The University of Bristol’s School of Veterinary Sciences is asking owners of dogs showing signs of osteoarthritis to take part in a first study of its kind to find out whether an omega-3 oil derived from algae can help dogs with osteoarthritis (University of Bristol, 2016). Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an omega-3 fatty acid found … Continue reading Bristol University researchers looking for dogs with osteoarthritis for new study

Moleculomics In Silico Discovery Inc, part of Moleculomics group, has received funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program. The funding, together with business advisory services, will support the development of a predictive technology to develop a set of tools and processes which will discern between a drug destined for legislative … Continue reading Moleculomics secures Government of Canada funding

A University of Bristol-led international project investigating a new method of controlling the growth of organic crystals has been awarded €2.9m in Horizon 2020 funding (University of Bristol, 2016). The MagnaPharm project aims to direct polymorphism in pharmaceutical compounds by crystallising them in high magnetic fields. The ability to direct polymorphism would have a transformative … Continue reading Organic crystal research secures EU funding

Creo Medical has been floated on the Alternative Investment Market, raising £20m (Insider Media, 2016). The company, which is based in Chepstow, is developing a range of surgical devices that can dissect tissue while using special microwaves to staunch the blood flow. These are designed to be used with an endoscope to reduce the need … Continue reading Creo Medical floats on AIM

Cardiff-based BBI Solutions, a leading developer and manufacturer of raw materials and finished test platforms for the in-vitro diagnostics market, has announced the launch of Porcine Liver Esterase (PLE), a new enzyme for urinalysis (BBI Solutions, 2016). PLE is used in urinalysis controls as a partial substitute and potentially cost effective alternative for human leukocyte … Continue reading BBI Solutions launches its first urinalysis enzyme

A study in mice by researchers at MIT has found exposure to flickering light stimulated brain waves appears to prompt the brain’s immune cells to absorb the sticky amyloid proteins that are the most visible hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (The Guardian, 2016). The authors of the study don’t yet know whether the findings would be … Continue reading Study finds strobe light could be used to treat Alzheimer’s