Technology Review AudioDizer Podcast - Biomedicine Top Stories

Eye Study Is a Small but Crucial Advance for Stem-Cell Therapy

Karen Weintraub — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The results show that the treatment can be safe, but whether it can be effective is another question.

Startup Makes 'Wireless Router for the Brain'

Courtney Humphries — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Kendall Research's devices could make optogenetics research much more practical.

Device Brings $1,000 Genome Within Reach

Erica Westly — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:50:00 GMT

Ion Torrent introduced its new tabletop sequencer at CES this week.

Discovery Could Lead to an Exercise Pill

Karen Weintraub — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:01:00 GMT

A newly identified hormone acts like a workout, and transforms bad fat into good.

Defining Experience

Morten Overgaard — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

A better definition of consciousness will help with tough ethical choices.

Technological Healing

Sharon Begley — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

A leading researcher says digital technologies are about to make health care more effective. But is so much data really beneficial?

The Mystery Behind Anesthesia

Courtney Humphries — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Mapping how our neural circuits change under the influence of anesthesia could shed light on one of neuroscience's most perplexing riddles: consciousness.

Mimicking Autism

TR Editors — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Mice lacking a specific piece of DNA show symptoms like those in humans

Device Tracks Blood Flow in the Brain

Courtney Humphries — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

A headset ultrasound monitor could make it easier to detect the dangerous aftereffects of brain injuries.

Fluorescent Protein Lights Up the Inner Workings of the Brain

Erica Westly — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

The advance offers a nontoxic way to study how the organ works, and how disease impairs it.

Disease in a Dish

Emily Singer — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Generating cells from patients suffering from such disorders as  Down syndrome, schizophrenia, and ALS lets scientist study these diseases in the lab and test new drugs.

Fluorescent Spray Could Help Surgeons Identify Cancer Quickly

Erica Westly — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Researchers develop a spray that could make cancer cells glow within a minute of application.

Tiny Magnets Could Clear Diseases from the Blood

Adam Marcus — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Researchers make magnetic nanoparticles that can latch on to harmful molecules and purge them from the blood.

Exposing the Cost of Health Care

Deborah Erickson — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Most Americans don't know what medical procedures cost until after the fact. One startup aims to change that.

Getting Health Data from Inside Your Body

Emily Singer — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Hugo Campos believes that patients with implanted medical devices deserve access to the data they collect.

New Pacemaker Needs No Wires

Duncan Graham-Rowe — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

It regulates the heartbeat with a zap of ultrasound sent to a receiver implanted into the organ itself.

An Ultrathin Brain Implant Monitors Seizures

Lauren Gravitz — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

The device can conform to the shape of the brain, enabling better recording of electrical activity.

App Boosts the Sounds You Have Trouble Hearing

Kenrick Vezina — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Its developers hope to make the sound-calibration test standard for many devices that deliver audio.

Geron Shuts Down Pioneering Stem-Cell Program

Antonio Regalado — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:43:00 GMT

A study of whether embryonic stem cells could cure spinal-cord injury suffered from high costs, dim prospects.

Health IT Saves a Life in Memphis

David Talbot — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

A medical data-sharing program saved at least $2 million and gave doctors crucial insight about a pregnant woman's complications.