Curated News: National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)

• share
• favorite_border

MIT researchers have identified molecules found in mucus that can block cholera infection by interfering with the genes that cause the microbe to switch into a harmful state.

• share
• favorite_border

NIBIB funding drives progress in the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of middle ear infections

• share
• favorite_border

Bioengineers have developed biocompatible self-assembling “piezoelectric wafers,” which can be made rapidly and inexpensively to enable broad use of implantable muscle-powered electromechanical therapies.

• share
• favorite_border

Nanofiber-based treatments stimulate the body to mount its own biological attack on immune disorders.

• share
• favorite_border

In a study that compares rapid antigen and laboratory PCR approaches for COVID-19 serial screening, researchers affiliated with the NIH RADx initiative reported results from 43 people infected with the virus.

• share
• favorite_border

In a new study, NIH researchers report that the prevalence of COVID-19 in the United States during spring and summer of 2020 far exceeded the known number of cases and that infection affected the country unevenly.

• share
• favorite_border

A change of instructions in a computer program directs the computer to execute a different command. Similarly, synthetic biologists are learning the rules for how to direct the activities of human cells.

• share
• favorite_border

This study investigates how the nucleocapsid protein, or N protein, of the SARS-CoV-2 virus packages the viral genome.

• share
• favorite_border

NIBIB-funded researchers are investigating long-lasting, customizable nanobubbles for ultrasound contrast agents.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers to measure the brain's subtle magnetic signals in two research volunteers simultaneously as they interact, capturing the rich complexity of the brain's signaling during face-to-face social interactions in real-time.

• share
• favorite_border

The new technique is capable of printing organ models containing live cells in minutes instead of hours— a major step in the quest to create 3D-printed replacement organs.

• share
• favorite_border

The technique used in this preclinical study could aid tissue regeneration following severe accidents, surgical resections, or progressive muscle loss due to age or genetic disease.

• share
• favorite_border

The National Institutes of Health today announced three new contracts and one new award to an existing contract for scale-up and manufacturing of novel COVID-19 testing technologies. The four Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics initiative contracts totals $65.6 million.

• share
• favorite_border

NIH has awarded four additional contracts for the development and scaled-up manufacturing of new COVID-19 diagnostic testing technologies through its Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Tech (RADx) initiative. The awards total $29.3 million and will help increase testing capacity for COVID-19.

• share
• favorite_border

CDC, in collaboration with the NIH, has launched a community health initiative called “Say Yes! COVID Test” starting in Pitt County, North Carolina, and coming soon to Chattanooga/Hamilton County Tennessee.

• share
• favorite_border

Abnormal heart rhythms—cardiac arrhythmias—are a major worldwide health problem. Now scientists are using ultrasound for more accurate maps of arrhythmic sites in the heart for improved success of ablation procedures.

• share
• favorite_border

New hydrogel-based materials that can change shape in response to psychological stimuli, such as water, could be the next generation of materials used to bioengineer tissues and organs, according to a team of researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago.

• share
• favorite_border

In an era of required social distancing and stressed medical resources, a virtual clinical environment that allows doctors and nurses to safely practice intubating a simulated COVID-19 patient, among other necessary procedures, could accelerate and enhance training efforts. With the support of a new $654,000 supplement grant, a team of engineers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will develop an artificially intelligent agent called the Virtual Intelligent preceptor for COVID (VIVID), which will prepare teams for surgeries, to intubate patients, and to properly use personal protective gear, without increasing anyone’s risk of exposure.

• share
• favorite_border

Research into the gut-brain axis continues to reveal how the brain and gut influence each other’s health and well-being. Now researchers are endeavoring to learn more about gut-brain discourse using a model system built in a lab dish.

• share
• favorite_border

The FDA granted emergency use authorization today for an innovative COVID-19 viral antigen test developed with support from NIH’s RADx Initiative.

• share
• favorite_border

Engineers have created 3D printed patient-specific models of the aorta that can aid presurgical planning and improve outcomes of minimally invasive valve replacement.

• share
• favorite_border

The COVID-19 Testing Impact Calculator is a free resource that shows how different approaches to testing and other mitigation measures, such as mask use, can curb the spread of the virus in any organization.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have combined synthetic biology with a machine learning algorithm to create human liver organoids with blood and bile handling systems. When implanted into mice with failing livers, the lab-grown replacement livers extended life.

• share
• favorite_border

Inspired by a parasitic worm that digs its sharp teeth into its host’s intestines, Johns Hopkins researchers have designed tiny, star-shaped microdevices that can latch onto intestinal mucosa and release drugs into the body.

• share
• favorite_border

In a groundbreaking new study, researchers at the University of Minnesota, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, have 3D printed unique fluid channels at the micron scale that could automate production of diagnostics, sensors and assays used for a variety of medical tests and other applications. The team is the first to 3D print these structures on a curved surface, providing the initial step for someday printing them directly on the skin for real-time sensing of bodily fluids.

• share
• favorite_border

NIH has awarded seven contracts to companies and academic institutions to develop digital health solutions that help address the COVID-19 pandemic.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers created a system that uses CRISPR in a new way. Rather than acting on the genome to create permanent change, their system briefly suppresses genes specific to adenovirus antibody production, just long enough for the virus to deliver its gene therapy cargo unimpeded.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers from the University of Minnesota, with support from Medtronic, have developed a groundbreaking process for multi-material 3D printing of lifelike models of the heart’s aortic valve and the surrounding structures that mimic the exact look and feel of a real patient. These patient-specific organ models, which include 3D-printed soft sensor arrays integrated into the structure, are fabricated using specialized inks and a customized 3D printing process. Such models can be used in preparation for minimally invasive procedures to improve outcomes in thousands of patients worldwide.

• share
• favorite_border

The winners of National Institutes of Health’s 9th annual Design by Biomedical Undergraduate Teams (DEBUT) challenge developed simple and low-cost diagnostics and treatments for conditions such as tuberculosis, cervical cancer, birth defects, and onchocerciasis (river blindness).