Subject
6 entries
Medicine
Bookmarks
Substitution of Phenylephrine for Pseudoephedrine as a Nasal Decongestant
A medical journal article arguing that replacing pseudoephedrine with phenylephrine in OTC decongestants was an illogical drug policy response to methamphetamine — because phenylephrine is nearly ineffective at the doses sold, while pseudoephedrine actually works.
Printing Evolves: An Inkjet for Living Tissue
WSJ piece on inkjet-style bioprinters capable of depositing living cells layer by layer to build tissue structures — a 2012 snapshot of bioprinting before it hit mainstream awareness. The long road from printed tissue samples to transplantable organs had just begun.
Biologists Grow Human-Eye Precursor from Stem Cells
Nature News coverage of a 2012 milestone: biologists grew a human eye cup (optic cup) from induced pluripotent stem cells, self-organizing into the correct layered structure. An early demonstration that complex organ structures could self-assemble from stem cells — significant for regenerative medicine and our understanding of developmental biology.
DNA Blueprint for Fetus Built Using Samples From Parents
NYT coverage of a 2012 breakthrough: reconstructing a fetal genome from samples of parents' blood and the father's saliva, without invasive amniocentesis. A preview of prenatal genomics that raised immediate ethical questions about what to do with the information.
MIT Builds a Needle-Free Drug Injector
MIT's needle-free drug injector uses a Lorentz-force actuator to fire a microscopic jet of liquid at high velocity through skin, delivering medication without a needle. A practical application of physics that eliminates needle phobia and reduces sharps waste.
Why We Haven't Cured Cancer: Personalized Medicine vs. Evolution
Science-Based Medicine's argument for why personalized medicine is harder than it looks: tumors are genetically heterogeneous mosaics that evolve under treatment pressure, so targeting a single mutation is like targeting one soldier in an army that reproduces faster than you can shoot. The evolutionary biology of cancer makes resistance nearly inevitable.