Download New Finds: Cure for osteoporosis Bone Again There is some hope

New Finds: Cure for osteoporosis
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one Again
There is some hope for patients of osteoporosis, a debilitating disease in
advanced stages. The disease causes fractures that are difficult to heal and
treat. The patients are often advised bed rest and painkillers. One method of
treating it is a procedure called vertebroplasty, where a surgeon injects a
cement-like substance into cracks in the bone. This method is applied in the
spine, although osteoporosis produces fractures all over the body. However,
several studies have questioned the utility of this procedure given its
complications.
Now, a new substance approved by US drug regulator FDA recently could alter
the situation. It is a cement developed by a company called Orthovita, and it
strengthens bones. In another good news, last week, researchers from the
University of Utah developed a glue that holds bones together without apparent
side-effects
Chipping In DNA Pattern
A DNA model for enhancing computer chip production
As chip makers keep giving us faster and more energy-efficient chips,
industry observers have no doubt that they will hit a brick wall a decade or so
later. Even if they do not, it is becoming difficult to increase the speed of
silicon chips, while keeping them energy-efficient. Several alternatives have
been proposed to silicon, but none of them are compatible with today’s
manufacturing techniques. Now, IBM and the California Institute of
Technology in the US have jointly developed a better alternative — a process
using the DNA as a model.
The DNA is used as a scaffolding to assemble millions of very small particles
extremely close together and in precise patterns. Making chips with components closer together helps make smaller
devices and faster computers. Current semiconductor fabrication methods cannot place components of a chip closer
than 22 nanometres. But the IBM-Caltech team has managed to place particles as close as 6 nanometres.
Nevertheless, the technique cannot be used to make chips right away. The dissipation of heat, as components get tinier
and tinier, is a concern. Also, the technology could take 10 years to come to the market.
Small Ain’t Beautiful
Small Ain’t Beautiful
Nanotechnology may be the next big thing in science, but is it safe?
Increasingly, doubts are being expressed about the safety of nanoparticles
and nanotubes. Last year, a study had showed nanotubes are as damaging
as asbestos fibres to human lungs. Now, a study published in the European
Respiratory Journal says nanoparticles used in paint could kill. The study has
found the lungs of a group of Chinese workers were severely damaged after
inhaling nanoparticles. This is the first reported damage to health by
nanoparticles, although some scientists give nanoparticles the benefit of
doubt. The study examined seven women between 18 and 47 years of age.
They all had a disease called plural granulomas, a lining in the lungs, formed
by the accumulations of immune cells. This disease occurs when the immune system is unable to remove a foreign
body. The study found excessive fluid in the workers’ lung lining, and a large number of nanoparticles as well. Two of
the workers died.
The particles are supposed to have entered the lungs when the women inhaled fumes produced by heating polystyrene
boards. The symptoms of the patients were similar to those seen in animals that inhaled nanoparticles.
(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 31-08-2009)