Researchers Produce Blood in Lab from Stem Cells
from The Los Angeles Times
Scientists said that they had devised a way to grow large quantities of blood in the lab using human embryonic stem cells, potentially making blood drives a thing of the past. But experts cautioned that although it represented a significant technical advance, the new approach required several key improvements before it could be considered a realistic alternative to donor blood. More

For Patients with Paralysis, Tongue Could Run Controls
from USA Today
The tireless tongue already controls taste and speech. Now scientists hope to turn it into a computer control pad. Georgia Tech researchers believe a magnetic, tongue-powered system could transform a disabled person's mouth into a virtual computer, teeth into a keyboard—and tongue into the key that manipulates it all. More

New Approach To Better Understanding Therapy for Strokes
from The Ohio State University Medical Center
Researchers have developed a new model for testing the effectiveness of therapies for stroke patients. Reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the method may be useful in protecting many of the thousands of people each year who suffer debilitating strokes. Strokes are the third leading cause of death worldwide. More

The Smell of Cancer
from Technology Review
People who are prone to developing skin cancer have to undergo frequent exams and biopsies of suspicious moles in order to catch tumors at an early stage. But a new finding suggests a quicker, noninvasive method for detection. Scientists have identified a characteristic odor profile given off by skin-cancer tumors, which might one day allow diagnosis by a wave of a detector across the skin. More

Japanese Scientists Create Stem Cells from Wisdom Teeth
from Telegraph
A team of scientists in Japan have devised a method of creating stem cells from wisdom teeth that would otherwise have been discarded, enabling them to seek cures to diseases without the controversy inherent in using embryos. More

'Cutting by Color': New Imaging Technique for More Precise Cancer Surgery
from Science Daily
Cancer surgeons operate "blind" with no clear way of determining in real-time whether they have removed all of the diseased tissue, which is the key to successful surgery. Researchers in Massachusetts now report development and early clinical trials of a new imaging system that highlights cancerous tissue in the body so that surgeons can more easily see and remove diseased tissue with less damage to normal tissue near the tumor. More

Immune Cells Show Long-Term Memory
from Science News Magazine
Even after 90 years, the immune system doesn’t forget the face of a mass-murderer. A new study shows that survivors of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic still have immune cells that remember the culprit virus. More