Modular blocks could enable labs around the world to cheaply and easily build their own diagnostics.

MIT: Researchers at MIT’s Little Devices Lab have developed a set of modular blocks that can be put together in different ways to produce diagnostic devices. These “plug-and-play” devices, which require little expertise to assemble, can test blood glucose levels in diabetic patients or detect viral infection, among other functions.
“Our long-term motivation is to enable small, low-resources laboratories to generate their own libraries of plug-and-play diagnostics to treat their local patient populations independently,” says Anna Young, co-director of MIT’s Little Devices Lab, lecturer at the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, and one of the lead authors of the paper.

High efficiency synthesis of insulin by self-assembly based organic chemistry

Osaka: Researchers at Tokai University, Osaka University, Tohoku University and Fukuoka University report in the journal Communications Chemistry on the synthesis of insulin based on the self-assembly of polypeptide chains at about 40% efficiency. This new approach is expected to enable flexibility in synthesizing order made insulin compounds that cannot be produced using conventional biological approaches based on genetic engineering. Insulin is a hormone that acts to lower the rise in blood glucose level after meals and is used as a therapeutic agent for diabetes. Since insulin has a characteristic molecular structure in which two peptide chains (A and B chains) are connected by two disulfide bridges (SS bonds), chemical synthesis has been considered as being difficult achieve. Currently, insulin is manufactured by a genetic engineering process.

Clinical Trial Tests Tattoo Sensor as Needleless Glucose Monitor for Diabetes Patients

UCSD: For Angela Valdez, being diagnosed with diabetes was an awakening. The disorder ran in her family, but she didn't think it would happen to her. And when it did, she acted by modifying her diet and physical activity. She was doing everything right — almost. "I don't handle monitoring my diabetes as I should," said Valdez. "I have the diet down a lot better now and I take my medication as I should, but the finger pricking is a struggle for me. I only test if I feel bad. If I don't feel my blood sugar level is high, and I'm taking the pill every day, I think I'm alright. Which is really bad thinking, but the pin prick is terrifying."

Scientists Prove Feasibility of “Printing” Replacement Tissue

Wake Forest: Using a sophisticated, custom-designed 3D printer, regenerative medicine scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have proved that it is feasible to print living tissue structures to replace injured or diseased tissue in patients. Reporting in Nature Biotechnology, the scientists said they printed ear, bone and muscle structures. When implanted in animals, the structures matured into functional tissue and developed a system of blood vessels. Most importantly, these early results indicate that the structures have the right size, strength and function for use in humans.

Glucose-monitoring contact lens would feature transparent sensor

Oregon: Type 1 diabetes patients may one day be able to monitor their blood glucose levels and even control their insulin infusions via a transparent sensor on a contact lens, a new Oregon State University study suggests. The sensor uses a nanostructured transistor – specifically an amorphous indium gallium oxide field effect transistor, or IGZO FET – that can detect subtle glucose changes in physiological buffer solutions, such as the tear fluid in eyes. Type 1 diabetes, formerly known as juvenile diabetes, can lead to serious health complications unless glucose levels are carefully controlled. Problems can include retinopathy, blindness, neuropathy, kidney and cardiac disease.

A method for storing vaccines at room temperature

Lausanne: Several simple and inexpensive techniques make it possible to store antiviral-vaccines at room temperature for several months. This discovery by EPFL researchers and partners could make a difference in inaccessible areas and developing countries where maintaining cold-chain transportation of vaccines is complicated and expensive. Shipping vaccines in an unbroken temperature-controlled supply chain (a “cold chain”) all the way to recipients is a major logistical and financial challenge in remote areas and developing countries. According to Doctors Without Borders, the need to keep vaccines within a temperature range of 2-8°C is one of the main factors behind low immunization-coverage rates.