A tiny, four-fingered “hand” folded from a single piece of DNA can pick up the virus that causes COVID-19 for highly sensitive rapid detection and can even block viral particles from entering cells to infect them, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers report. Source: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign News Bureau

AnemiaPhone, a technology developed by a multidisciplinary team of Cornell researchers to accurately, quickly and cheaply assess iron deficiency, has been transferred to the Indian Council of Medical Research of the government of India for integration into its programs for anemia, women’s health, and maternal and child health throughout the country. Source: Cornell Chronicle

A team of researchers at the University of California San Diego has developed a new and improved wearable ultrasound patch for continuous and noninvasive blood pressure monitoring. Their work marks a major milestone, as the device is the first wearable ultrasound blood pressure sensor to undergo rigorous and comprehensive clinical validation on over 100 patients. Source: UC San Diego. 

With their eclectic mix of mutations, tumors often survive drug treatment. In a new study, researchers found a way to use cancer’s evolutionary potential against it, destroying drug-resistant tumors in animals.

A team of researchers from Johns Hopkins University recently investigated how skin tone affects the visibility of breast cancer targets in photoacoustic imaging. They found that that a new imaging technique reduces skin tone bias, improving visibility across diverse skin tones. Source: The International Society for Optics and Photonics.

A team of researchers led by Rice University’s Jacob Robinson and the University of Texas Medical Branch’s Peter Kan with NIBIB funding have developed a technique for diagnosing, managing and treating neurological disorders with minimal surgical risks. Source: Rice University News.

A team of researchers at Vanderbilt University has developed a system of artificial cilia capable of monitoring mucus conditions in human airways to better detect infection, airway obstruction, or the severity of diseases like Cystic Fibrosis (CF), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD) and lung cancer. The lead researcher was funded by an NIH/NIBIB Trailblazer Award. Source: Vanderbilt School of Engineering

NIBIB has designed an initiative called Enhancing Biomedical Engineering, Imaging, and Technology Acceleration (eBEITA) at HBCUs. Recently, NIBIB made its first round of eBEITA grants to two HBCUs.

In a study published in Small, researchers at the University of Rochester outline a new method for using ultrathin membranes to easily identify extracellular vesicles for rapid liquid biopsies. The method, called catch and display for liquid biopsy (CAD-LB), holds promise for diagnosing cancer quickly and affordably, and assessing the progress of therapies used to treat diseases. Source: University of Rochester News