Light-activated glue to replace sutures..

A scientist has developed a glue that could mean the end of sutures. Maria Pereira has created a surgical glue that can mend broken hearts. Sutures are time-consuming, damage tissue and are technically challenging," says Maria Pereira, head of research at Paris-based Gecko Biomedical, whose bio-inspired alternative it says can replace stitches. Its adhesive is viscous, hydrophobic, biodegradable and cured by LED light. Unlike other glues, which can be washed away by water, it can be placed in wet environments such as the heart, where 
it works as both a sealant and a scaffold for tissue to grow over. Pereira, 30, invented the glue in 2010 while a bioengineering PhD student in the MIT Portugal Program. Doctors at Boston Children's Hospital had approached her supervisor, Jeff Karp of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, with a problem: how to close defects in a newborn baby's heart without sutures. A newborn's heart is as large as its fist, so operations are extremely delicate. Pereira looked to nature for inspiration. "Understanding the basic principles 
of how things work is very important in developing new technologies," she says. Her sealant can stay sticky inside a beating pig's heart by mimicking the viscous, hydrophobic secretions of snails and sandcastle worms. This breakthrough as published in the wired states that Karp and a group of prominent scientists and entrepreneurs founded Gecko Biomedical in 2012, hiring Pereira as head of research. The first product made from the adhesive, GB02, acts as an adjunct to sutures in vascular reconstruction surgery and will go into clinical trials this spring, with the aim of securing regulatory approval in the first half of 2017. The goal of the company is to make surgery simpler and to change how it is done, the company is also working on another product GB04, which could end the need for sutures altogether.

The new rave; 3D PRINTING.

The world is changing,many platforms for growth and development are evolving and joining the train is only sensible. The world of 3d printing is so enormous and the influence in all sectors of the economy makes it a rallying point for the business-oriented individuals. 3d printing has helped in medicine, telecommunication,food industry,clothing, jewelry,cars e.t.c the list is endless and the impact is so amazing. There are surgical procedures that could not be achieved some years back,but thanks to 3Dprinting,lives are saved. This is an open invite to catch the vibe,join the buzz,3d printing is the game-changer. The latest news from the 3d printing world according to 3Dprint.com is that the University of Sheffield is making 3D Printed Micro-Rockets Fueled for Thrust by Enzymes to Deliver Drugs in Human Body.Researchers from Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Sheffield are working on it and the process of delivery is astounding. University of Sheffield are responsible for having created a powerful drug delivery system via 3D inkjet printing, working on previous conventions that due to the tools at hand were just too ‘laborious’ to offer great future potential. The use of reactive inkjet printing (RIJ), the researchers expose two different solutions to each other, thus creating a new one or causing a change in form—and here the main result is autonomous, silk-based rockets with varied catalyst distribution and direction of movement. This new technology, technique, and findings, are explained thoroughly in ‘Reactive Inkjet Printing of Biocompatible Enzyme Powered Silk Micro-Rockets,’ by David A. Gregory, Yu Zhang, Patrick J. Smith, Xiubo Zhao, and Stephen J. Ebbens—just published in small. While this concept is not new and studies regarding this basic idea have been going on for at least a decade, University of Sheffield researchers have found a way to streamline it substantially with 3D inkjet printing. As interest has grown in seeing this technology progress, the focus is on applications such as:1)Environmental monitoring and remediation 2) In vivo drug delivery and repair 3)Lab on a chip diagnostics With RIJ technology, there’s much greater potential as compared to lithographic fabrication processes currently ongoing in labs. Through employing the world of 3D technology and printing, they are able to make micro-rockets, composed of silk scaffolds, and ‘highly biocompatible and non-biofouling.’ At 300 microns in length and 100 microns in diameter (as thick as one human hair), the mini-rockets autonomously propel themselves powerfully but they do require bio-fluids acting as their ‘fuel.’ This could have substantial implications in cancer treatment, as feasibly the 3D printed rockets could seek out and destroy cancer cells without causing any detriment to the human body. Not only that, more progressive benefit is found in using this new technology as it’s more affordable than trying to use devices like polystyrene beads, carbon nanotubes or metal, which require a coating such as platinum, and obviously lead to concerns regarding safety within the body. The inket printer’s ‘material’ consists of dissolved silk combined with an enzyme, presented in single droplet form by the MicroFab ‘Drop on Demand’ printer, relying on Jetlab software, and employing four single nozzle print heads (60 μm diameter) which are each attached to their own individual reservoir. The 3D inkjet printer builds up layers of ink, and they are responsible for making a column of the rocket. Beyond that, the researchers have found that the secret is then is exposing the silk to methanol which converts it into a secondary structure allowing for the capture and retention of the enzymes within. The enzyme is then what reacts and acts as the catalyst, with bubbles simply propelling the rocket. Using the silk scaffolds also eliminates the need for surfactant additives. The process is safe, biodegradable, and affordable, offering the true possibility for realistic use in applications such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, and enzyme immobilization. And as the researchers state in conclusion: “…evidenced by much recent research attention, the future potential to further develop these micro-rockets is significant.”

AGRIBUSINESS: ECHBEE FOODS.

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Duke Energy to buy power from swine, poultry waste.

A new facility that captures methane gas to generate renewable electricity will be built in North Carolina Duke Energy, a sustainable electric and gas company that serves 7.3 million customers in the midwestern and southeastern United States, plans to purchase swine and poultry waste output from a facility planned for North Carolina – using the captured methane gas to generate renewable electricity at four power stations. Carbon Cycle Energy will build and own the facility, which is to be located in eastern North Carolina, although the exact location of the facility has not yet been announced. "It is encouraging to see the technological advances that allow waste-to-energy projects in North Carolina to be done in an environmentally responsible and cost-effective manner for our customers," said David Fountain, Duke Energy president -North Carolina. Under North Carolina's Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (REPS), Duke Energy companies must meet specific compliance targets for swine and poultry waste. Duke Energy is already buying electricity generated from other facilities in the state. "We are pleased to partner with Carbon Cycle Energy to help meet our compliance objectives," added Fountain. "The gas from this project will generate carbon neutral electricity compared to the emissions that would result if the waste was left to decay naturally." Expanding the utility's renewable energy output, the captured methane will be treated, injected into the pipeline system and used at four Duke Energy plants in North Carolina. Under a 15-year term, Carbon Cycle Energy is expected to produce more than 1 million MMBtus of pipeline-quality captured methane a year. Duke Energy should yield about 125,000 megawatt-hours of renewable energy a year – enough to power about 10,000 homes for a year. The renewable energy credits (RECs) generated annually by the effort will help satisfy state mandates. contributed by wattagnet.

Poultry, pig manure used to produce energy in Chile.

Researchers at University of Concepción use waste to produce biochar and thermal energy Researchers at the University of Concepción are using the solid waste from poultry and pigs in the region of Bío Bío in central Chile to produce biochar and thermal energy. Professor Cristina Muñoz and Cristina Segura are exploring the technical and economic issues of using strong heat – pyrolysis – to recovering the energy locked up in organic waste from poultry and pig farms to produce biochar and energy. The process appears to be a green option for the treatment of materials that would otherwise have the potential to add to greenhouse gas emissions or groundwater pollution. Segura explained that large quantities of organic waste – slurry, manure, bedding materials, feathers and spilt feed – are produced by the region’s poultry and pig farms. The pyrolytic process results in a carbon material known as biochar and thermal energy in a safe, environmentally friendly and cost-effective way, say the researchers. Due to be completed in October this year, the project is funded by the Regional Government of Bío Bío. Muñoz explained that the first aim of the project has been achieved, namely to obtain a homogeneous and marketable material. Now, the biochar is being evaluated by the University as a soil improver for a wide range of horticultural applications. contributed by wattagnet.

THE CHICKEN CONVERSATION..

Join the conversation, all eyes on you.

Helium discovery a 'game-changer'.

Scientists have discovered a large helium gas field in Tanzania. With world supplies running out, the find is a "game-changer", say geologists at Durham and Oxford universities. Helium is used in hospitals in MRI scanners as well as in spacecraft, telescopes and radiation monitors. The precious gas has been discovered only in small quantities during oil and gas drilling.Using a new exploration approach, researchers found large quantities of helium within the Tanzanian East African Rift Valley. They say resources in just one part of the Rift valley are enough to fill more than a million medical MRI scanners. Prof Chris Ballentine, of the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford, said: "This is a game-changer for the future security of society's helium needs and similar finds in the future may not be far away."Dr Pete Barry added: 'We can apply this same strategy to other parts of the world with a similar geological history to find new helium resources. Helium is formed by the slow and steady radioactive decay of terrestrial rock. However, global supplies are running low, with warnings that supplies cannot be guaranteed in the long term. Prof Jon Gluyas, of the Department of Earth Sciences at Durham University, who collaborated on the project, said the price of helium had gone up 500% in the last 15 years. "Helium is the second most abundant element in the Universe but it's exceedingly rare on Earth," Prof Gluyas told BBC News. "Moreover, any helium that you do find if you're not careful, will escape, just like a party balloon it rises and rises in the atmosphere and eventually escapes the Earth's gravity altogether. "It's used in a whole array of key instrumentation, particularly medical MRI scanning and so on, and so we have to keep finding more." The researchers say volcanic activity in the Rift Valley releases helium buried in ancient rocks, which rises up and becomes trapped in shallower gas fields.The amount of helium is estimated at more than 54 billion cubic feet - which could potentially meet global demand for several years. The next step is to find the best place to drill to exploit the gas and bring it to the surface. Helium is used for 1)It is used in the space industry to keep satellite instruments cool, to clean out rocket engines and was used to cool the liquid oxygen and hydrogen that powered the Apollo space vehicles 2) Helium is used as a cooling medium for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the superconducting magnets in medical MRI scanners 3)Helium is used to fill party balloons, weather balloons and airships because of its low density 4) A mixture of 80% helium and 20% oxygen is used by deep-sea divers and others working under pressurized conditions. 5) Helium-neon gas lasers are used to scan barcodes at supermarket checkouts. contributed by BBC NEWS.