gel

Vaginal gel may provide a new approach to HIV prevention

Research with female monkeys at the Tulane National Primate Research Center has for the first time shown that three different anti-viral agents in a vaginal gel protect the animals against an HIV-like virus. The research suggests that a microbicide using compounds that inhibit the processes by which HIV attaches to and enters target cells could potentially provide a safe, effective and practical...

Hand sanitizer gel works

Randomized trial finds reduced spread of GI infections in families with children in day careUsing an alcohol-based hand sanitizer gel significantly reduces the spread of gastrointestinal infections in the home, according to a study in the September issue of Pediatrics. In a study of 292 Greater Boston families -- half of which were given hand sanitizer -- those that used the gel had a 59 percent...

Living anti-HIV gel shows early promise

Scientists are one step closer to developing a 'living gel' that could be applied to the vaginal or intestinal tracts to protect against HIV/AIDS infection. They say that allowing these bacteria to colonise the internal bo...

Polymer gel can block toxic leakage problem in gene therapy

Duke University biomedical engineers have devised a potentially patentable method to arrest toxic leakages of genetically engineered viruses that have plagued attempts to use gene therapy against cancerous tumors. The problem has been that viruses carrying anti-tumor genes have tended to leak from tumors, proving toxic to other body tissues. The researchers have developed a biocompatible p...

Young scientists turn to gel to ease side-effects of cancer treatment

Three young scientists in the University of York's Department of Chemistry have developed a gel that could spare cancer patients some of the unpleasant and dangerous side-effects of radiotherapy....

Chemotherapy gel may fight breast cancer and reduce breast deformity

Women who undergo surgery for breast cancer followed by radiation therapy often experience breast deformities that can only be corrected through reconstructive surgery. Researchers at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, in collaboration with bioengineers at Carnegie Mellon University, have developed a polymer-based therapy for breast cancer that could serve as an artificial tissue fi...

Manchester scientists create new bio-gel for 3D cell culture

Scientists at The University of Manchester have created a new type of 'bio-gel' which provides a pH neutral environment for culturing cells in 3D, as published in the journal Advanced Materials (March 2006). The gel is the first pH neutral material made from combinations of dipeptides (pairs of amino acids) to provide an environment in which cells can be cultured under physiological condit...

An artificial cornea is in sight, thanks to biomimetic hydrogels

If eyes are "the windows of the soul," corneas are the panes in those windows. They shield the eye from dust and germs. They also act as the eye's outermost lens, contributing up to 75 percent of the eye's focusing power. On Sept. 11 in San Francisco at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society, chemical engineer Curtis W. Frank will present a novel biomimetic material that's finding it...

Swell gel could bring relief to back pain sufferers

Scientists at The University of Manchester believe injections of tiny sponge-like particles could provide an alternative to major surgery in the treatment of chronic lower back pain. Dr Brian Saunders from The School of Materials and Professor Tony Freemont from The Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences have developed tiny gel particles that swell and stiffen when injected into a damaged a...

Angelman syndrome deficits rescued in mice

Children with Angelman syndrome are often seen laughing and smiling, but this cheerful demeanor masks serious neurological problems ?mental retardation, movement problems and seizures. ew research in mice, however, suggests that many of these deficits could be alleviated. Edwin Weeber, Ph.D., and colleagues reversed the neurological deficits in a mouse model of Angelman s...