Medical Mouse

A California company has figured out how to use two simple materials -- water and salt -- to create a solution that wipes out single-celled organisms, and which appears to speed healing of burns, wounds and diabetic ulcers.

The solution looks, smells and tastes like water, but carries an ion imbalance that makes short work of bacteria, viruses and even hard-to-kill spores. Read more...

Tokyo - A Japanese research team has developed a fuel cell that runs on blood without using toxic substances, opening the way for use in artificial hearts and other organs.

The biological fuel cell uses glucose, a sugar in blood, with a non-toxic substance used to draw electrons from glucose, said the team led by Matsuhiko Nishizawa, bio-engineering professor at the graduate school of state-run Tohoku University. Read more...

This tool provides you with information on how well the hospitals in your area care for all their adult patients with certain medical conditions. This information will help you compare the quality of care hospitals provide. Hospital Compare was created through the efforts of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and organizations that represent hospitals, doctors, employers, accrediting organizations, other Federal agencies and the public. Check it out.

Scientists at Jefferson Medical College are using tobacco plants to produce monoclonal antibodies -- tiny guided protein missiles -- that can target and hunt down cancer cells. The plants promise to provide a cheaper, faster method of producing anticancer antibodies, raising hopes that the technology can one day be used in humans. Read more...

A severe allergic reaction to a medication robbed Elma Phifer of her vision two decades ago when she was 39. The reaction scarred her corneas and reduced the ability of her eyes to soothe their damaged surfaces by remaining moist.

She came to rely upon family and friends to help her do many of the activities people with normal vision sometimes take for granted. Now, twenty years and several life milestones later, Elma is able to see again, thanks to advances in ophthalmology research.

Physicians at Duke University Eye Center and Harvard have been monitoring her closely following the implantation of an artificial cornea, or keratoprosthesis, into one of her eyes -- restoring her sight in that eye and ultimately helping her regain much of her independence. Phifer is one of several hundred patients nationwide who have received such artificial corneas, which have revolutionized the treatment and care of patients like her. Read more..