Category Archives: BioEngineering

A University of Illinois student is recovering in the hospital after being stranded in the Swiss Alps for more than two days. The UI's Department of Bioengineering said one of its students, sophomore Mark Doose, was skiing alone when he became stranded in the cold and snowy landscape for three days and two nights. He was rescued and is being treated for hypothermia, exhaustion and frostbite. Doose's parents have gone to Switzerland to be with their son and tell the UI that he's in good spirits. Doose was in the country as a part of a study abroad trip. ** A massmail sent to UI bioengineering students on Mark Doose: I am writing to share a story about our own Mark Doose, class of 2017, who is abroad this semester. His parents have been posting on Facebook, so some of you have seen his updates already. Mark Doose was skiing in Switzerland during his semester abroad when he went missing. Mark was all alone in the Swiss Alps but managed to survive 3 days and 2 nights in blizzard and zero degree temperatures. He had to trudge through high snow banks for several kilometers, including wading through sometimes deep water, … Continue reading →

Prof.Griff / ZaZa Ali~NMEMINDZ: Artificial Intelligence; BioEngineering 2.0 Subscribe http://www.pgriff.info http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mindzmatter Please join Professor Griff and ZaZa Ali this Thursday Jan 29th as we dive into the... By: MrTruth Seeker … Continue reading →

The Department of Bioengineering's core faculty, emeritus, joint appointments, and adjunct faculty serve as the backbone to the department's overall strength and competitive ranking as an internationally recognized teaching and research institution. Currently, 25 research and teaching faculty members have primary appointments in the department, and many hold joint appointments with several institutions of the Texas Medical Center. The department also benefits from 17 multi-disciplinary joint appointments within various science and engineering departments at Rice. In addition, a network of adjunct faculty collaborate with the department on many levels to build partnerships that identify important problems, develop and translate bioengineering solutions, and train the next generation of leaders in bioengineering. 2014 Department Committee Assignments Michael W. Deem, Ph.D. John W. Cox Professor, Biochemical & Genetic Engineering; Professor, Physics & Astronomy; Chair, Department of Bioengineering; Founding Director, SSPB BRC, Suite 763 (713) 348-5852 Deem Group mwdeem@rice.edu Michael Diehl, Ph.D.Associate Professor, Bioengineering Associate Professor, Chemistry BRC, Suite 515 (713) 348-4568 Macromolecular SystemsBioengineering Group diehl@rice.edu Rebekah Drezek, Ph.D. Professor, Bioengineering Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering BRC, Suite 419 (713) 348-3011 Optical Molecular Imaging and Nanobiotechnology Laboratory drezek@rice.edu Bilal Ghosn, Ph.D. Lecturer, Bioengineering Mechanical Lab 201 (713) 248-2648 bghosn@rice.edu K. Jane Grande-Allen, Ph.D. Isabel … Continue reading →

SINGAPORE: A new rapid test kit will soon allow dengue diagnosis in just 20 minutes, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) said in a news release on Thursday (Jan 29). The paper-based disposable device developed by the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) of A*STAR detects dengue antibodies in saliva. This is faster than the current diagnosis process of taking blood samples and testing it in a laboratory for dengue antigens or antibodies. Unlike blood samples, saliva can be collected easily and painlessly. The kit can also detect dengue antibodies from early-stage secondary infections of dengue. Patients with secondary infections, who have previously contracted different strains of the dengue virus, stand a higher risk of developing dengue hemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome. "The ability to differentiate between primary and secondary dengue infections makes it a valuable early diagnosis tool that would help to ensure timely treatment and proper care of patients," said IBN Executive Director Professor Jackie Y Ying. Early diagnosis is crucial as the incubation period before dengue symptoms develop generally ranges from four to ten days after infection, and timely intervention can help prevent further complications. Typically, paper-based tests are not designed to handle large … Continue reading →

Developmental Bioengineering Group - Rong Wang Piet Dijkstra - 20 Seconds Science Developmental Bioengineering Group - Rong Wang Piet Dijkstra http://www.utwente.nl/20secondsscience. By: 20seconds science … Continue reading →

TDC14: Susan Mulcahy - Bioengineering and Code Ever met a red blood cell? Join Susan Mulcahy as she travels through the human body as a red blood cell. Head to the party, have some sugar, some oxygen, and... By: Thinking Digital … Continue reading →

Editors note: this podcast is part of our investigation into synthetic biology and bioengineering. For more on these topics, download a free copy of the new edition of BioCoder, our quarterly publication covering the biological revolution. Free downloads for all past editions are also available. Tim Gardner, founder of Riffyn, has recently been working with the Synthetic Biology Working Group of the European Commission Scientific Committees to define synthetic biology, assess the risk assessment methodologies, and then describe research areas. I caught up with Gardner for this Radar Podcast episode to talk about the synthetic biology landscape and issues in research and experimentation that hes addressing at Riffyn. Among the areas of investigation discussed at the EUs Synthetic Biology Working Group was defining synthetic biology. The official definition reads: SynBio is the application of science, technology and engineering to facilitate and accelerate the design, manufacture and/or modification of genetic materials in living organisms. Gardner talked about the significance of the definition: The operative part there is the design, manufacture, modification of genetic materials in living organisms. Biotechnologies that dont involve genetic manipulation would not be considered synthetic biology, and more or less anything else that is manipulating genetic materials in … Continue reading →

Editors note: this post is part of our ongoing investigation into synthetic biology and bioengineering. For more on these areas, download the latest free edition of BioCoder. Over the last six months, Ive had a number of conversations about lab practice. In one, Tim Gardner of Riffyn told me about a gene transformation experiment he did in grad school. As he was new to the lab, he asked two more experienced scientists for their protocol: one said it must be done exactly at 42 C for 45 seconds, the other said exactly 37 C for 90 seconds. When he ran the experiment, Tim discovered that the temperature actually didnt matter much. A broad range of temperatures and times would work. In an unrelated conversation, DJ Kleinbaum of Emerald Cloud Lab told me about students who would only use their lucky machine in their work. Why, given a choice of lab equipment, did one of two apparently identical machines give good results for a some experiment, while the other one didnt? Nobody knew. Perhaps it is the tubing that connects the machine to the rest of the experiment; perhaps it is some valve somewhere; perhaps it is some quirk of the … Continue reading →

Harvard bioengineer David Mooney has been awarded a grant to develop a nonsurgical method for spaying and neutering dogs and cats (BOSTON and LOS ANGELES) - The Gary Michelson Found Animals Foundation has awarded Harvard bioengineer David Mooney a three-year grant totaling more than $700,000 to pursue development of a vaccine technology that would provide a nonsurgical method for spaying and neutering dogs and cats. Mooney is a Core Faculty member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and the Robert P. Pinkas Family Professor of Bioengineering at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). Mooney's team will use the grant award to adapt its existing work in implantable and injectable vaccines that activate the body's immune system to attack cancer or infectious disease. This time, the team hopes to tune the technology towards targeting and disrupting a hormone crucial to reproduction in mammals. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), which is produced in the brain, regulates the release of hormones from the pituitary gland that control reproduction in both male and female animals. Mooney and his team will explore how their various vaccine immunotherapies, which work by recruiting and activating the body's immune cells to attack … Continue reading →

Dr Stokes talks about Bioengineering Research @DCU How a Dublin City University professor is helping to improve the staying power of the common hip implant. By: EducationIreland … Continue reading →