Science Highlights

Researchers have shown that an automated cancer diagnostic method, which pairs cutting-edge ultrasound techniques with artificial intelligence, can accurately diagnose thyroid cancer, of which there are more than 40,000 new cases every year.

Researchers from Rice University have created drug-filled microparticles that can be engineered to degrade and release their therapeutic cargo days or weeks after administration. By combining multiple microparticles with different degradation times into a single injection, the researchers could develop a drug formulation that delivers many doses over time.

Tissue engineering research has uncovered that a skin cell type could be a new therapeutic target to accelerate the healing of burns and possibly other wounds.

Researchers built a motor that could operate a robotic device made from non-magnetic materials and was powered by the magnetic field produced by the MRI.

NIH-funded researchers developed an online tool that can analyze self-collected, at-home videos with a smartphone. When deployed in a nationwide study, the tool could predict physical health and osteoarthritis of the knee or hip.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are developing lipid nanoparticles that are designed to carry mRNA specifically to the pancreas. Their study in mice could pave the way for novel therapies for intractable pancreatic diseases, such as diabetes and cancer.

Researchers are developing new MRI contrast agents that are activated in low oxygen environments enabling improved diagnosis and treatment of hypoxic tumors as well as other diseases.

Bioengineers from Columbia University are developing a pipeline to systematically evaluate how bacterial treatments might synergize with existing anti-cancer therapies in preclinical models.

Scientists at Duke University supported with funds from NIBIB have developed an ultra-fast photoacoustic imaging system capable of visualizing functional and molecular changes in the brain related to major brain disorders. 

After years of research, an NIH-funded team has developed a wearable cardiac ultrasound imager that can non-invasively capture real-time images of the human heart. The prototype patch, which is about the size of a postage stamp, can be worn during exercise, providing valuable cardiac information when the heart is under stress.